If you drive on any major highway in the United States, you’ve probably seen tractor trailers parked along the side of the road, especially overnight.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations prohibit nonemergency stops because of the severe hazard they present to commercial motor vehicle drivers and other motorists, increasing the likelihood of serious accidents, involving several vehicles with serious injuries and shutting down traffic for hours.
But truckers often park along the side of the road when they need a nap or have hit the mandatory limit on the number of hours behind the wheel because they're unaware of the nearest rest area or truck stop. Employers of drivers in these situations or owners of fleets may be facing liability for third-party injuries, property damage and workers' compensation claims.
To help truckers more easily find parking spots and eliminate the hazard of stopping along the road or driving while drowsy, the Alexandria, Virginia-based National Association of Truck Stop Operators and its associated foundation, along with the American Trucking Associations and the American Transportation Research Institute, both based in Arlington, Virginia, have released an app called Park My Truck.
Lisa Mullings, president of NATSO and its foundation, said the app represents the first time that industry has come together to provide a national source for truck parking information to truck drivers on U.S. highways.
“Professional drivers are essential to our economy and our way of life in America,” Mullings said. “Their safety are a priority.”
According to NATSO, the Park My Truck app includes the total number of parking spaces for nearly 5,000 truck stops and some rest areas in the United States. Participants reporting available truck parking information include independent truckstops as well as chain locations representing 150,000 truck parking spaces.
Chris Spear, CEO of the American Trucking Associations, said that truck parking is not often on the list of high priorities for state departments of transportation, but it greatly affects logistics within the trucking industry.
Commercial drivers ranked truck parking as their No. 4 concern in the “Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry” report for 2016, which was released this week by the American Transportation Research Institute. Complying with the electronic logging devices rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; the hours-of-service rules; and the cumulative economic effects of trucking regulations ranked above finding a place to park, according to the report.
Administered by NATSO’s foundation, Park My Truck is accessible for free online or through smartphone apps by all professional drivers, trucking fleets, and state and other administrators of highway rest areas.
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Rosalie Donlon
Rosalie Donlon is the editor in chief of ALM's insurance and tax publications, including NU Property & Casualty magazine and NU PropertyCasualty360.com. You can contact her at [email protected].
