Editorial: My Kingdom for a Parking Space

In the board game Monopoly, the Free Parking square is rather a disappointment. Sure, nothing bad happens, but where is a player’s chance for glory and domination?

Clearly, the makers of the venerable pastime never considered truck parking. Longhaul commercial drivers are never ever disappointed about getting a safe, free place to park their rigs for 10 hours off duty. Even if you have to pay for it, a good space these days is a godsend.

For many truck drivers, parking is much more critical than walking an extra few blocks or paying a higher rate than what would be ideal. It’s about basic compliance with federal hours-of-service rules for drivers.

Finding legal parking at the end of one’s daily journey is yet one more task confronting a longhaul driver, and it can be a significant hurdle to overcome.

The Department of Transportation said Aug. 21 that “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.”

Furthermore, 90% of drivers reported struggling to find safe and available parking during night hours.

The DOT findings were part of a survey discussed by Deputy Secretary Victor Mendez, who also announced a national truck-parking coalition that includes federal and private-sector members.

“We greatly appreciate the light DOT is shining on this important safety issue. The survey results confirm what American Trucking Associations 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,” said Dave Osiecki, ATA’s chief of national advocacy.

As Mendez and Osiecki both noted, this is yet another reason to pass a multiyear highway bill. Most versions under consideration authorize some money for the overlooked necessity of truck parking.

During the brief span between the National Truck Driving Championships and Driver Appreciation Week, especially, we think people should consider the life of drivers and how important it is for them to have a safe and even pleasant place to rest.

If they can’t be home nightly because they are bringing their fellow citizens the things they need, the drivers should at least be entitled to a secure place for 10 hours of relaxation and slumber before hitting the road again.

That’s like passing “Go” and collecting $200.