ATA argues against Virginia closing rest stops

Virginia’s plan to close 25 of the state’s 41 Interstate Highway rest areas poses a significant safety risk to motorists, American Trucking Assns. (ATA) president & CEO Bill Graves said.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) already deemed the state “deficient in providing adequate parking for commercial vehicles, especially along the I-95 and I-81 corridors,” Graves said, noting that closing the rest stops would hinder truck drivers’ ability to meet federal Hours of Service regulations and make the roads less safe.

“Gov. Kaine [of Virginia], the trucking industry today has the lowest fatality rate since records began being kept in 1975,” Graves noted. “This achievement was possible only through a cooperative relationship between the trucking industry and our public sector partners. It would be a shame to squander these hard-won gains due to a temporary lack of resources.”