NATSO Launches New Program Focusing on Truck Stop Safety

By Amy McMahon, Staff Reporter

This story appears in the Feb. 11 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — NATSO, the national trade group representing truck stops and travel plazas, unveiled a new public education program here Jan. 24 as a way to help truck stops address drivers’ concerns, such as safety.

“No highway traveler — whether a commercial or private driver — should have to guess or hope that the places they stop are serious about safety,” Tom Heinz, co-owner of Coffee-Cup Fuel Stops and a member of the NATSO Foundation’s board, said in a release issued during the association’s annual conference.

The NATSO Foundation, the group’s research affiliate, created the “Travel Safely Network” after its research found the driving public is most concerned with cleanliness and safety of truck stop and rest areas, above convenience and fuel prices.

Truck stops and rest areas that join the network must commit to following specific guidelines in five key areas: cleanliness, lighting, security, community engagement and education.

“We hope to bridge the gap be-tween professional truck drivers and everyday motorists by providing important information about sharing the road, dealing with emergency situations, planning their travel in advance and much more,” said Bill Mulligan, vice president of development for Pilot Travel Centers.

The network plans to provide educational materials to travel plazas and truck stops.

• NATSO President Lisa Mullings said she was encouraged by American Trucking Associations’ decision to oppose the use of mandatory automatic temperature compensation devices at fuel pumps.

ATA stated its opposition in a Jan. 14 letter to the National Conference on Weights and Measures
(1-28, p. 2). Mullings said that ATA’s letter demonstrates that the debate over whether to use temperature-correction devices is not a matter of “retailers versus consumers.” Rather, automatic temperature compensation is harmful to both retailers and consumers, she said.

“We’re convinced that we are on the right side of public policy,” she added.

• Ed Flynn received the NATSO Chairman’s Medal. Flynn, the owner of Flynn’s Truck Plaza, has served on NATSO’s board of directors and was chairman of the Independent Operators Council in 2007.

NATSO Chairman Dan Alsaker said Flynn possesses an admirable “blend of courage, integrity, character and principle” that represents “the heart and soul of this industry.”