Talking Freight Seminar: Jason's Law Truck Parking Survey - Report on Findings

As the U.S. population and national and international trade have grown in recent years, truck parking needs have also increased, and become particularly acute in some parts of the U.S. Truck drivers are subject to Hours of Service requirements, and unexpected roadway congestion and longer than anticipated delivery times may require drivers to park their trucks in locations that have limited dedicated truck parking before their available daily hours of service run out. The lack of available, dedicated truck parking can create safety hazards for drivers; they may be forced to park in locations near highway traffic, on unfamiliar roads where they are more likely to get lost, or at sites where thieves and other ill-intentioned people may try to steal the trucks' high-value contents or attack the drivers themselves. Periodically, fatalities can even occur, as was the case with Jason Rivenburg, who was murdered in 2009 after parking at an abandoned gas station because no dedicated and/or safe parking was located nearby.

To address truck parking issues, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Jason's Law provisions in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). Jason's Law, named for Jason Rivenburg, required U.S. DOT to conduct a survey of the states to determine the capability of their existing truck parking facilities. Though some states have truck parking shortages, many other states provide sufficient truck parking and have engaged in innovative practices to enable truck drivers to access those truck parking locations.

This webinar will discuss the results of the Jason's Law truck parking survey, and the recently-created National Coalition on Truck Parking that was created to address the survey results. It will also discuss some of the innovative efforts states are undertaking to ensure trucks are able to park in dedicated and/or secure locations. Finally, it will include the trucking industry perspective on the importance of truck parking and the challenges that occur when dedicated and/or secure parking locations are not readily available.