DOT’s National Coalition on Truck Parking to Meet This Fall
WASHINGTON — A group consisting of national and regional stakeholders will begin to meet in a few months to outline ways to improve parking availability nationwide for truckers, senior Department of Transportation officials announced Aug. 21.
Deputy Transportation Secretary Victor Mendez said the National Coalition on Truck Parking would meet in a few months to start developing recommendations for agencies.
The creation of the coalition was prompted by the results of a congressionally mandated survey conducted by FHWA’s Office of Freight Management and Operations. The results, unveiled Aug. 21, found that most states report problems with truck parking shortages. Also, states with the highest numbers of spaces are clustered along major corridors with high truck volumes, and more than 75% of truck drivers and almost 66% of logistics personnel reported regularly experiencing problems with finding safe parking locations when rest was needed.
Jason's Law Truck Parking Survey Results
“We know truck parking has been a long-standing problem in our nation and we need new approaches to fix it,” Mendez said. “Now more than ever, this country needs better planning, investment, and innovation from those who have a stake in safe truck parking and transportation.”
“Highway safety depends in part on making sure hardworking, professional truck drivers have a safe place to recuperate after spending hours on the road,” added Scott Darling, chief counsel at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a member of the coalition. The White House recently tapped Darling to lead FMCSA full-time as its administrator.
Other lead coalition members include American Trucking Associations, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the National Association of Truck Stop Operators and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
“We greatly appreciate the light DOT is shining on this important safety issue. The survey results confirm what ATA has believed for some time — collectively, we need to take real action to ensure that every commercial driver has access to a safe place to park in order to obtain rest. Real action includes better information for professional drivers, and it requires real money, making truck parking another reason our leaders in Washington must pass a robust, long-term highway bill and for the states to dedicate the resources we need to this critical, yet too often overlooked, necessity,” ATA Executive Vice President Dave Osiecki said.
“State departments of transportation recognize that the issue of adequate parking for commercial truck drivers is a serious safety concern,” said AASHTO Executive Director Bud Wright.
