Truckers Find Rest Stops in Short Supply, Journal Says

Truckers around the country are having difficulty finding rest stops at which to park, and parking spots close to cities are especially hard to find, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

In a front-page story in its Marketplace section, the Journal said that many truckers have taken to parking their rigs on highway shoulders once they reach their 11-hour driving limit — and sometimes are then ticketed for doing so.

Police sometimes let truckers parked on the sides of roads off with warnings, citing safety as their primary concern, the story said.

Some truckers can find places to park at large retail parking lots, such as Wal-Marts, but those depend on local management and don't usually have things like showers and bathrooms available, the Journal reported.

One truck-stop company, Pilot Travel Centers, said the number of truck stops is growing by 2% to 3% per year, but that it is hard to find places to expand, the paper said.