From SCDigest's On-Target E-Magazine
- August 31, 2015-
Supply Chain News: US DOT Study Finds Lack of Parking Spots for Drivers is an Issue, Even as Spaces Often Go Unused
Problem is Clearly Going to Get Worse before it Gets Better
SCDigest Editorial Staff
The US Dept. of Transportation recently released a study of the issue of a perceived lack of truck parking spots for drivers to take needed and in many cases mandated rest, largely supporting the claim that the lack of parking spaces is a serious safety issue, though noting in many cases the challenge is simply matching available spaces with driver demand.
The study was required by Congress in 2012's MAP-21 highway funding bill under a provision called Jason's Law, named for Jason Rivenburg, a truck driver murdered in 2009 by a robber after he parked at a deserted gas station while taking a break in the course of delivering a load of milk. (See Forget the Driver Shortage - Parking Spots for Truckers Increasingly Hard to Find.)
SCDigest Says: |
 Truck-stop operators reported challenges with expanding their parking, including overall ROI and zoning and environmental laws that often make expansion difficult. |
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What Do You Say?
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The perceived lack of parking spaces often leads truckers to park at unofficial locations such as retail parking lots or the sides of highway off ramps, creating safety issues for drivers and car drivers. The time and stress sometimes encountered in trying to find a parking spot in the busiest areas is a factor in some drivers leaving the profession, when there is already a major shortage of drivers in the industry due to other factors, such as pay and overall lifestyle issues.
The DOT study involved a review of available data and survey of truck drivers, managers at trucking firms, and state DOT officials, and did find that the lack of adequate parking is "a national safety concern," and that "there is often a mismatch between driver demand and the availability of an adequate parking space at that point and time."
More than 75% of the truck drivers surveyed in the study and nearly 66% of logistics personnel reported they regularly had trouble finding safe parking when it was time to rest. 90% said they often struggle to find safe and available parking at night.
Not surprisingly, the busiest highways for truck traffic and major metro areas are where the parking shortage is thought to be most acute. The top five corridors cited by drivers and staff as having shortages are I-95, I-40, I-80, I-10 and I-81.
In general, except in many rural states, the issue is seen nationwide, but some regions of course are worse than others. The chart below shows the regions cited as having the biggest parking problems by drivers for carriers in American Trucking Associations (ATA), managers at those carriers, and members of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA). As can be seen, the Mid-Atlantic area (New York and Pennsylvania) came in with the worst scores, with between 40 and 50 percent of drivers citing parking issues there.
US Regions Seen Having Serious Parking Shortage
Interestingly, both ATA and OOIDA drivers cite problems at a higher level than do ATA carrier managers, and the independent OOIDA drivers consistently rated parking problems a few percentage points higher than ATA drivers.
The report also cited another dilemma: what police should do if they find a trucker parked and likely sleeping in an illegal spot, such as the side of an off ramp. Police know the reason is often that the trucker got tired or ran out of his 11 hours of drive time but couldn't find a parking place.
"A driver sleeping in a truck parked on the side of a highway may be more of a danger if he or she is awakened and ordered to vacate the premises,"
the study noted.
(Transportation Management Article Continued Below)
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