A new survey finds that show most US states have truck parking shortages occurring at all times of the day on every day of the week and as a result, a new National Coalition on Truck Parking has been established to find solutions to the growing truck parking shortage.
The announcement, reports Heavy Duty Trucking magazine, was made in conjunction with the release of the results of a truck parking survey mandated by the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” Act (MAP-21).
Almost half of the state departments of transportation surveyed reported that truckers were forced to park on freeway interchange ramps and shoulders of highways, which represents a safety issue.
The findings were part of “Jason’s Law Truck Parking Survey Results and Comparative Analysis.” .(“Jason’s Law” refers to truck driver Jason Rivenburg, who in 2009 put a face on the truck parking shortage when he was fatally shot after being forced to park overnight in an unlit, abandoned gas station in St. Matthews, S.C. )
“Today we mark an important milestone that was born out of a terrible tragedy,” said Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau, who called truck parking “a personal priority of mine.”
The National Coalition on Truck Parking announced Friday will include the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Trucking Associations, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the National Association of Truck Stop Operators and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
