The American Trucking Associations recently praised the introduction of the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act—legislation that would address the trucking industry’s critical need to expand access to safe commercial parking.
“Truck drivers perform a valuable service to our economy—moving more than 70% of our nation’s goods—and having opportunities to safely rest is an important part of that,” said Chris Spear, ATA’s president and CEO. “Representatives Bost’s and Craig’s recognition that in order to do their jobs, truck drivers need places where they can safely park and rest, is overdue and we applaud them for their leadership in introducing this important legislation.”
The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, introduced by Reps. Mike Bost (R-Illinois) and Angie Craig (D-Minnesota), will make $755 million available to states to finance projects aimed at increasing the number of parking spaces for commercial truck drivers.
“One of the persistent complaints our drivers have is that they struggle to find safe parking,” said Randy Guillot, ATA chairman and president of Triple G Express in New Orleans. “This bill will provide the means to help address that concern.”
Nearly half of all truck drivers report being forced to park on the shoulders of highways or other unofficial, unsafe locations due to lack of parking. On average, the cost of looking for parking amounts to $5,500 in lost wages annually.
“America’s truck drivers work every day to deliver goods to keep our economy moving safely and efficiently,” Spear said. “As part of that, the government mandates drivers pull over and rest to comply with the hours-of-service rules, the least our government can do is work to ensure they have a safe place to park to get the rest they need.”
