The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a measure to spend $755 million on safe truck parking over the next four years.
“This is long overdue. It’s one solution to try to make the lives of drivers safer and less stressful and perhaps allow for more retention. This will really help improve the efficiency of trucking,” committee chairman Rep. Peter DeFazio reportedly said. “It may be something that goes into the year-end omnibus. I hope we can pass it out of the House unanimously when we come back after the August break.”
Members of Congress had initially agreed to fund safe parking as part of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure spending package, following talks with trucking advocacy organizations such as the America Trucking Associations (ATA).
“The availability of safe and secure truck parking is not just a challenge for current drivers, it is a barrier our industry must overcome in attracting new drivers — particularly women,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear reportedly said. “Solving it won’t just help today’s industry. It will go a long way toward helping trucking recruit and attract a more diverse workforce.”
Unfortunately, funding was stripped as the measure was negotiated between the U.S. House and Senate. Department of Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg possessed wide-reaching discretionary funds to invest in truck parking infrastructure. Studies point out that there is one truck space available for every 11 rigs operating each day. However, the Biden Administration appointee invested no discretionary money despite going on the record indicating he is aware of the problem.
The American Transportation Research Institute reported that 80 percent of truckers spend upwards of 30 minutes trying to secure a legitimate parking space. Too many are forced to stay overnight in risky areas as the search for reasonable parking eats into their hours of service limits. The recent movement by the House committee could be the first step to resolving a workplace issue that has plagued truckers for decades.
The bill, which easily passed on a voice vote, was introduced by Illinois Rep. Mike Bost and Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig back in March 2021. Other lawmakers put forward amendments in an effort to get the funds into the Infrastructure spending package. A spokesperson for Bost indicated the bill could now be fast-tracked to the House floor because it enjoys bipartisan support and is backed by trucking industry organizations as well as safety groups.
“Our nation’s truckers have worked around the clock over the past few years to keep store shelves stocked during a pandemic and supply chain crisis,” Rep. Bost reportedly stated. “But in order to do their jobs, they must have somewhere safe to park. It is critical that we get this legislation passed as soon as possible so that we can address this issue and keep our roads safe for all drivers.”
Sources:
https://about.bgov.com/news/truckers-to-get-more-parking-under-bill-approved-by-house-panel/
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/755-million-truck-parking-bill-advances-in-house
https://www.vantagetruckparking.com/blog/blog-post-title-one-g6tsm
They say this every year yet I do not see any additional parking areas. In fact because of Biden’s economy they’re actually closing rest areas and parking areas.
Chock full of PORK I’m sure.
Maybe they’ll do the right thing. LMAO !!!!
We’ll see how much, if any actually gets spent on parking. Even if the whole amount goes where promised, it’s still only a drop in the bucket of what is needed.
Yea lets hope they do something. But when you have a transportation secretary that has no idea what his job is. and a guy like Matt Cartwrigh in congress from the PA 8th district who made millions arguing law suits against truckers, and actually said “the only thing out of state trucks bring to PA is bad roads and horrific wrecks” I have my doubts.
Hey Pa 8th, get your head out of your butt and vote for Jim Bognet in November. and anywhere else in the US do your homework on these congress members and put people in that fight for what we need, they need us even though they pretend not to.
I have said for years the quickest and surest way to get additional truck parking is to tie federal highway funds to ‘adequate’ truck parking in each market. If a market area such as LA County has 10,000 trucks delivering each day, they must have 10,000 parking spaces, while say neighboring Orange County has 7,000 incoming trucks, it must have 7,000. If federal funds are cut off from LA county, they will find incentives to create parking thru private companies. Incentives like lowered or no property tax on the parking areas. Grants to truck stops to enlarge and increase parking. There are lots of things that can be done, leaves control to the local jurisdiction and gives immediate incentives due to frozen highway funds.
As far as any real improvements, like more rest areas with bathrooms, I’ll believe it when I see it.
We hear about this happening over and over again and…it never gets done!
Owner operators urinate in bottles and jugs why not defecate in buckets too? Look around at owner operators in a truckstop and you’ll see the bar scene from Star Wars. Pleanty of bathrooms there for “them”.
I don’t want my tax dollars spent on roadside bathrooms. Let private industry build them and charge a fee to enter and utilize.
I don’t know why you’re picking on owner operators. I see as many lazy and nasty company drivers just pissing next to the truck rather than walking to use a restroom. Don’t blame one group when all are guilty.
Jack Carberry is a racist clown and hates owner operators because he can’t be one himself.
First off transcontinental freight should travel by train, not road. Until then, all OTR trucks should run sleeper team. It will expedite freight movement, fully utilize equipment and fix the parking issue. The general public doesn’t want to waste almost a billion dollars of their hard-earned taxes on parking lots.
So stop whining and drive your truck.
lmao. yea because when you put an item in your amazon cart it just magically shows up on your door step. you know as much about transportation in the us as mayor maternity leave pete
Sure, make everyone run teams. That’s okay, probably not a bad idea, but they can do that without me. I’m probably not the only driver who would basically refuse running a team operation. Perhaps, a married couple or whatever makes a good team out here. I can see that, but no way in hell am I just going to be forced to live in one of these trucks with another driver. I can’t sleep well with the truck bouncing down the road, been there many years ago. I won’t ever do it again…
Yes I heard that same thing when they starting random drug testing us in 1987, or ELD’s, or cameras, new HOS etc.
“I’m not gonna do it”.
I was forced to run team at CF in 1997. I had a newborn baby at home. I made $300 plus daily running team (thank you Jimmy Hoffa) but chose family over job and quit.
Well guess what my 40 years in this business has shown that almost all drivers just eventually do what they’re told, and whine like little girls. Should just learn to like it, or get out of trucking, buy a lawnmower and a blower, and own a real business as a true “independant contractor”.
First off the time it takes for rail travel is ridiculous. Second there aren’t enough teams to move all that freight. I run from upstate New York to Seattle Washington. I will have 5-10 stops along the way. I don’t see the company I’m hauling for putting 10 trailers on the rail when I can do it on one. It takes me 5-7 days each way. Which is still much quicker than the rail.
Driving team defeats the purpose of a lot driver’s reason to drive OTR: not having to deal with co-workers.
if this does get spent on Parking areas, how much will we have to pay to park, usually when gov or private industry gets public taxpayers funding, it will drive up cost for parking, etc.
Those who use should pay for it. Owner operators nowadays are welfare queens and we need to change that.
Hope President Biden vetoes this waste of our tax dollar.
mayor maternity leave pete stop the steal what an idiot!
First off the time it takes for rail travel is ridiculous. Second there aren’t enough teams to move all that freight. I run from upstate New York to Seattle Washington. I will have 5-10 stops along the way. I don’t see the company I’m hauling for putting 10 trailers on the rail when I can do it on one. It takes me 5-7 days each way. Which is still much quicker than the rail.