A proposed ban on overnight truck parking in residential areas of Pierce County in Washington State has been approved by the county council by a 7-1 vote. The ban will see a $175 fine for any truckers who park vehicles over 10,001 pounds on residential streets between the hours of 10pm and 6am.
According to one council member, the hope is that the ban will prevent truckers from parking in front of houses since – as he claims – they are both annoying and dangerous.
The ban isn’t just for truckers who are passing through, either. Local truckers who want to park their rigs in front of their own houses are prohibited from doing so as well. The county only allows commercial trucks with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 18,000lbs or less to park in driveways or other locations designated for parking.
It’s not just another parking ban that truckers have to look out for. In Carmel, Indiana, there is a temporary ban preventing truckers from even driving on residential streets. According to the IndyStar, council members there have passed a new ordinance that will ban trucks over 19,500lbs from specific residential roads.
The ban comes after traffic caused by trucks ignoring detour signs on U.S. 31 began to drive on local roads. The council claims that truckers are tearing up streets not designed for such heavy use and causing congestion. The mayor of the town claims that one truck driver got stuck trying to make a U-turn on a small roundabout on Main Street.
Gary Langston, president of the Indiana Motor Truck Association, weighed in on the new ordinance in an interview with the IndyStar saying that trucks probably aren’t ignoring detour signs on purpose and that they aren’t trying to get stuck driving on local roads.
“The last thing that a trucker wants to do is get caught in a congested area,” Langston said. “Congestion costs billions of dollars a year to the trucking industry.”
The ban prevents trucks who aren’t making local deliveries from driving on Old Meridian Street; Guilford Road, from 116th Street to Old Meridian Street; Main Street, from Illinois Street to Keystone Parkway; 136th Street, from Illinois Street to Rohrer Road; and Illinois Street, from 116th Street to 136th Street until construction finishes on U.S. 31 around Thanksgiving.
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Source: overdrive, indystar, fox59
Image Source: screen capture from fox59
Moving Forward says
Wow, that picture is clearly worth MORE than a thousand words for the topic of this article. No wonder why some local communities don’t want to have big rigs in their areas.
Steve says
They have these roundabouts out in the middle of nowhere on Route 54. most of these roundabouts are more for Beauty than a safety concern. the ones at home cause more accidents than a 4 way stop. As they are not designed to accompany any large vehicles which include most trucks under the size of a standard pickup.
Sapper says
Yah, stupid city street workers aren’t smart enough to build the correct size roundabout. Blame the truck driver for all your problems, then try to figure out why there is nothing in your local convenience store. Where has all the common scene gone, why are so many politicians so “brain dead”, what makes them think they know how to control “your” life better then you do, yet they have absolutely no control over their own lives.
Robert says
What idiot would do something like this (see picture). If you’re watching your mirrors how can you not see what’s happening?
David Stout says
Most likely a new driver. An experienced driver wouldn’t have this happen.
Thom says
He would if he hit the detour and the roundabout was not designed for a big rig to make a u-turn or drive all the way around it.
John says
I do see the point of these statutes banning trucks. Weight and size make a large truck a problem for many local streets and neighborhoods. But nobody seems to offer any alternatives and yet we as truck drivers may have little option to finding a alternative. I am lucky enough to live close enough to one of my companies yards with the ability to park my truck and its only 20 miles away. Many companies don’t even have yards or facilities or your a independent operator. I think everyone involved must realize that trucks are here to stay and that for the foreseeable future trucks will be driven by humans who live in those towns and cities and pay taxes. I don’t myself see any more a problem with a truck driver parking just his truck at home then a person parking a large recreational vehicle at his home. Where I live, both are banned so at least its a fair restriction.
Josh says
I make local deliveries there a lot. The roundabout sucks, you have to take up both lanes to get it done, but I think it takes a special kind of idiot to do that.
Scott Coyle says
As said above councils have the right to close down areas but the only way to make it so drivers dont intentionally push those limits are to give us an alternative. More driver restrictions without anyway for us to make an honest living. Drivers are being pushed to make poor choices especially when few options are available. Its becoming increasingly hard to justify driving to make a living these days.
J Reed says
This particular issue was not only the guy tried to make an impossible u turn, he ignored the clearly marked detour signs. I have driven this route and it is well marked to take the detour and the detour is all 4 lane freeway. Had he been reading the signage as he should, this would not be an issue. Companies are hiring complete morons these days, as well the DMV is illegally issuing CDL’s to illiterate non English speaking immigrants at an alarming rate. Federal law prohibits this but no’one seems to be willing to enforce it.
Kajidono says
Ok, number one, how much do trash trucks weigh? Two, school busses gross close to 30,000lbs. So great job, guys.
Darren Mehler says
Kajidono…is this with or without children on the bus?? LOL
Jeff says
Do you think that the city council realizes that the Penske & uhaul trucks their residents use to move in and out, and park in their driveway or on the curb overnight, are rated greater than that 10,000 lbs? And the large ones are over 19k. I guess that’s the town’s way of saying “welcome to the neighborhood” or “thanks for living here” and giving them a $175 going away ticket. Sure makes me not want to live & pay taxes there.
I think I’ll go for a drive on a saturday night and start filing complaints about all the rental trucks illegally parked… That’ll make for a happy town council meeting next month.
Steven says
Anybody remember a few years back in Kirkwood, Missouri when a man walked into city hall and shot,I believe was five persons? He killed two or three? The mayor lingered for I think a year before he died. It wasn’t reported in the news why the man did it. The city issued him over forty thousand in fines for parking his work trucks in front of his house. I know this can’t be the first time this has happened. How many other time’s has this been swept under the rug.
JB says
I can see how scenes like that picture happen . Sad to say our country is 3/4 of the way to hell ..
Truck driving has become an entry level job ,Where I work ( I am a tractor mechanic) I see the revolving door of drivers every week , 5-20 “Fine ” recruits – straight from under the bridge , Somalia , Wal-Mart, McDonalds even the janitor all taking their drug tests, safety & driving tests.
Into a unit they go , I need to wear a Hazmat suit to perform a scheduled service anymore, but hey , at least all the suspension damage , torn up clutches & busted bodywork , burnt overloaded 12 volt wiring keep me employed !!!!
MisterK says
Wow,
I’m new to driving, 4 months now. I’ve been through round abouts and only had tandems hit the edge of the curb or a little more. I would think he would have stopped way before it got to this point!
I’ve seen experienced drivers do stuff too. Like everyone said, read the sighs and it would have been avoided.
Daniel says
I have over 14 years Tractor Trailer experience, before that 10 years straight trucks, along with experience in the Army operating military vehicles.
I am not gonna lie but I have made some wrong turns in my career. Ended up in neighborhoods where large vehicles don’t belong. Not on purpose. I am glad I was never ticketed. I am human I will make that mistake again. I think warning signs are ok. But they don’t need to bash my CSA and collect large sums of money for an innocent mistake! I would like to see some of these Town Council JackWagons operate a tractor trailer in a large city, traffic, time deadlines., and unfamiliar territory.
Darren Mehler says
Well said Daniel, I too have been in the BIZ for 16 yrs and *stuff* is going to happen to us all!
I do have one question for everyone… was the driver in the pic backing around the circle or driving forward? If driving around the correct way how did the flowers not get crushed when he drove over the curb and up onto the fountain???
m pope says
People the older ones use to call me a moron the time for calling people names is done example driver has 40 years under his belt racing left lane when left lane closed hits a truck in right lane then screams at driver he hit driver he hit was yielding to someone that pulled off shoulder driver he hit had less then a year don’t blame it on in experience just never a assume
Tony says
Carmel has always been a pain in the butt. They don’t like trucks there and don’t want them there period. The only reason drivers can use keystone is because the state forced them to for the US 31 project and as soon as that’s done it will be restricted to 19.5 again.
Carmel is where a lot of the money in Indy lives and trucks annoy them.
Tim says
Sure enough – most of the Mrs. Thurston Howell, III’s of the world would have trucks and poor people all living in zoos if they could.
Fred says
I owned a house in Pierce County WA in year 2006 and had an impossible time parking my 18 wheeler close to the house. The local police would ticket my rig every chance they had as I would park where there were no homes. If my rig was ticketed and not moved soon it would be towed and I would face huge charges from a recovery company. In my mind I thought man I pay road taxes and then when I get home for days off I’m paying the county for parking. Finally I found a client down by the river that let me park there. I’m no longer in the logistical industry and having less issues, but do miss turning the big wheel. Bottom line is too many whiners in Pierce County and that’s why I’m living in Sheriff Joe Country.
Jim gardner says
If the driver did see the detour signs he must not know how to read English that’s the problem DOT does nothing when they pull someone who can’t speak or read English they just get an inturpiter, slap em with a ticket and send em on their way. According to the DOT you MUST speak, read and understand English.
Fred Evans says
I live in Fort Worth,TX. We have a city ordinance that prohibits parking a commercial vehicle on residential streets, no problem, just drop the trailer at a shipper or receiver near your house and bob tail home. The rractor without a trailer is an over sized 2 passenger car.
Tim says
A fleet message on the Qualcomm the other day gave me a good chuckle. Our company went to e-logs earlier this year. Predictably, it turns out that a “high volume” of our drivers are (a) logging “excessive amounts” of line 5 time (whatever that means…according to my understanding of the rules we can’t use line 5 unless we’re bobtailing, and even then, just going to the store or something…), (b) tampering with the power supply to the Qualcomm, and (c) not logging in or out of the unit when they’re supposed to.
Fully aware of what drivers face out here these days (as partially illustrated by this news story), all I could think when I read that message was “Gee, I wonder why!”
Dave says
Well, another Falcon driver ill prepared for driving big rigs. I see their flatbeds driving down the road with tarps flying in the wind held by a couple ropes. Sad!!! Leaving Windsor heading East trucks are currently routed to a roundabout due to construction which was designed with big trucks in mind. This roundabout looks a little tight with the barriers.
junebug0621 says
While i do agree that trucks should not be allowed on certain roads, i will never however agree that a driver should not be allowed to park his truck at his home. As long as i own my home and pay my taxes i have and always will park my truck at my home. nobody is go tell me what i can or can not have in my yard. i could care less who says it.
Bruce says
I bet that company had to buy a new water fountain.
Hiding says
I clicked on this link from my email and almost fell off my chair when I saw this picture.Not only is it unreal to see but I am so ashamed to say I work for the same company.
Isaac Koch says
As to the roundabouts, I do not remember reading about them in the CMV manual. It took a private tester to explain that you drive in the outside lane and run your rear axle over the bricks–not the inside lane.
xcv64storekeeper says
It’s sooo simple… Go over your route when U first get up in the AM. Stop f you have ANY doubts. And foremost, call dispatch if there’s a sign saying you can’t go there. Put the problem back in his lap, cuz we all know the Co. WILL NOT pay your ticket. If the town you must deliver in don’t want you, let the people who took the money (you Co. owner) work it out with the customer, not you. If your boss won’t listen I’ve found it’s always best to hand your phone to the nice officer and let him talk to your boss The officer will almost always be happy to speak to who’s telling you to violate his laws. Remember, if you go ahead on you own, it’s always your ticket; and you only get like two thee days and you’re outta a job!
Curly says
Thats one way to fix a trailer that tracks to the right. At least he stopped before he got the tires in the fountain. I got screwed by construction in a small town in MO main road going ino the reciever were closed. Called the local police for help before I had any worse problems. Gave them my location, they came to me and escorted me to my delivery. Know when to ask for help, you will look more professional and eliminate problems like above.
Kevin says
These bans are the result of bad behavior of truckers, property damage and noise complaints from residents.
They are the predictable reaction from politicians and the NIMBY crowd.
I bring home one of our tractors every weekend, we have the same ban here in NJ.
I don’t fire up at 2 a.m. out of respect for my neighbors.
On the other hand, they know we work hard and we park in the driveway.
Never had one complaint.
headstone says
But in the case of truck parking in areas where they are supposed to be and can park…there isn’t any. The lack of truck stops in this state really stinks. There are two (2) major truck stops and a few mom and pop places along I-5 and approx. 10 rest areas (north and south total) and a couple of those you aren’t allowed to park a rig in them. They (the state) needs to address the issue on what can they do to help the drivers instead of not helping them. Sure the state wants to ship and receive (like all states) their stuff and not care about the drivers getting rest when they need it. I still think that all the drivers need to go on strike, whether company driver or not. We need to stand up for the rights of drivers that are being taken away.
Ray says
The guy in the picture is an idiot. That’s such an easy accident to prevent. I never have to park in residential areas. Are there really no other places for these guys to park?
Darren Mehler says
Ray, there are a lot of cities and states that are no longer trucker friendly! I drive the 17 western states (mid-west & west coast), more and more places are forcing truck drivers to look elsewhere when it comes to parking for the night. All these cities and states want what we bring to them but they don’t want us around any longer then to make the delivery and be on our way! I’m sure many of you have seen this all across the country. What’s next? will we have to pay for special parking permits in these city and states?
vince says
The average person hasn’t a clue what is required to turn around a tractor trailer of this size..this guy clearly got onto a road that he wasnt suppose to be on but let shed some insight onto the domino effect that takes place when a truck driver makes a wrong turn either by poor signage or driver error. This guy at some point knew he was on the wrong road but now that hes on it how does he get off it? The average person thinks what an idiot but you cannot turn these trucks around like a car. This guy had no room to turn at the roundabout without riding along some property. Maybe it was a legal road but they had closed the road ahead without any signage warning before getting on road. Its funny cuz as a trucker delivering your groceries etc to your local store so u can eat sometimes u get on a road that is legal but then u find out after your on the road that the road is closed ahead but wait now the trucker is on the road already n theres no way to turn around and get off the road! Im damn tired of everone always fighting the truck driver. Every where i go n everything i do a ignorant person is fighting me the wholebway cuz everyone hates the truck driver. Honest hardworking men n woman who are delivering everything u need to survive and luxeries u want. You should be thanking and supporting the American truck driver instead of hating them. I dont know the circumstances in this case maybe it was a rookie mistake..but people dont know the circumstances truckers faceout there in even the simplest conditions that cars take for granted. wereprofessionals out here n most of us out here are creating safe driving environment but some people just abuse the privelage and create serious dangers for themselves n others by doing moronic things to big trucks either cuz they dont care or cuz they just simply dont know. Eeveryone needs to take a course on commercial vehicles to understand what it takes to turn n what it takes to stop especially.when loaded. Hours of service n yes there is No where for us to park
michael says
As a trucker i do not want to get lost. But if a detour sign blows down during high winds and get lost and even a ticket for it its wrong. And i think if were not able to park our trucks at home or even in our drive way then we move and no trucks deliver loads in any city that bans us from their city. We have a right to park our rigs at home. But we are talking about indiana where they hate truckers all together.
me says
the part that gets me in the story. is who the council members say that trucks are dangerous. who can a machine parked on the side of the street be dangerous? that make no since. I use to park mine in front of the house. it helped keep motorist from speeding down the road. what I consider dangerous. is the mind set of our leaders and people. that to me is more dangerous then any machine can ever be.
Jerry says
Yes, I just rolled through Yelm, WA from Stayton, OR up I-5 Eastbound to Yelm up to Kent.
Rush hr..So the roundabouts were jammed for folks wanting to get home. These were built smart for this is logging country as well but I DID HAVE TO TAKE UP TWO LANES AND BE A RUDE DOG FOR THESE FOLKS WOULD NOT LET ME IN OR MOVE OVER. SO ON THE HORN FLASHERS A GOIN. CHARGE ON I DID WITH OUT DAMAGE. LUCKY DAY. Better to have stayed on the 5 to 188th drop down military rd blah blah.
On the picture. I think the driver should have gotten out and moved the construction signs then put them back. ( If that was the issues?) *V*
Jerry says
FYI States have the authority to issue a CDL to anyone who can pass the Driving and written test. English speaking or not. Currently about 20 states do not require you to speak English fluently and WASHINGTON state is one of them. For the future of trucking ( A Senator from AZ named John McCain helped push NAFTA hard under Clinton.) NAFTA was a huge factor in getting this done for our North American Neighbors to the South. So USA companies like CONWAY, Celedon, Warren, Swift and many others could hire them for 24 cpm. HA HA And of course now you know Mexican Canadian trucks can go anywhere and haul freight. It is easy to make your facility bonded. So happy trucking keep it upright..
Jakub says
yupp, AND PEOPLE KEEP ON BUYING STUFF FROM THE STORES, BUT HAVE NO CLUE HOW IT GETS THERE…