Back in 2009, a man shot and killed truck driver Jason Rivenburg to steal $7 in cash. Made famous by its addition to the highway bill, “Jason’s Law” makes safe parking for truck drivers a national priority in hopes of protecting other truckers from having to park in unsafe or poorly lit areas.
Willie Pelzer III, Jason’s killer, was sentenced to life in prison without parole later that year, but the case is now back on the table as Pelzer is petitioning for a new trial on the grounds that “his original trial lawyer was incompetent in handling his case or that there were other errors that prove his trial was unfair.” Since Pelzer admitted to killing Jason in open court, there’s not much of a chance that he’ll be walking free, but it this news does come at an important time.
Over three years have passed since Jason Rivenburg was killed, “Jason’s Law” has been officially added to the highway bill, and lawmakers have patted themselves on the back for making the world a better place. But the questions is: are drivers actually any safer since the tragedy three years ago? Jason was forced to park at an abandoned gas station to wait to deliver his load because there was no other parking available. We still have a massive shortage of parking along our highways, and even more dire is the lack of rules allowing drivers safe places to park when waiting to deliver a load.
No new laws are even in the works to make any real change and it’s clear that private companies aren’t stepping up to help drivers. Instead, as we mentioned in a previous article, they are taking advantage of the parking shortage by doing things like charging to reserve parking spaces.
Lack of safe parking is a serious issue, and people keep saying that they’re working on it, but the bottom line is that nothing is getting done.
Next Story: ATA Claims Driver Shortage Not Trucking Companies’ Fault
Source: landline
Thay should let him free so some can tie him up and let that drivers family pratice putting 45 holes in his head
“to steal $7” i don’t think that was his motive. i think he was hoping for more. the way you phrased that makes it sound like the guy knew he was only going to get 7 bucks.
whether he was going for $7 or not he still killed a man for $7 and cost his family from him being there the boys will grow up without their daddy that is the point
So, So what if it was $7, or $70, or $700, he Still Killed a man in Cold Blood!! Doesn’t make Any Difference what the amount was. He should have tried in the electric chair 2 1/2 years ago.
I blame the communities that truck driver’s make deliveries to should be responsble. Think about it. You’ve made your pick-up,and get to the delivery point at early AM. No truck stop around. The guard at the guard house tells you that you can’t park at your delivery point because it “company policy”. So you drive to an unsafe location,and get robbed,and killed. The government doesn.t care about driver’s safety,they just want to control truck drivers. It’s just a “power trip’ for the government.
The point is that a trucker was murdered because of the parking situation!
Anyone else wanna see this idiot get the death penalty this tine round?
Carl, the point they were making was that Jason lost his life for a mere $7, yes the guy probably did think he was getting more because so many Americans have the stereotype that all truck drivers are making thousands of dollars on each load. In fact we are not, we are barely getting by why providing a service that keeps this country running, without trucks you would have nothing…..your home, car, groceries, toys, etc. would not exist unless you made them yourself or got them from a local supplier.
If the country continues to treat drivers as second class citizens and keeps taking advantage of them we will be more than happy to shut them down, then where would you be?
Hear hear I’m ready to shut em down anybody else? I would love to see how America would survive without the gas, food, close, cleaning supplies, entertainment, etc.
No one has the guts to shut down
what happened was wrong dead wrong but regardless if he was out of hours of service or was tired he should have driven to a safe haven even if he was legal to drive or not any company policies should be disregarded in situation like this,If I had to park at the police station I would even if I shouldn,t have be driving
“Jason’s Law”…what a joke! Now that this law is in effect, I guess we truck drivers will never have have to worry about being criminally violated ever again! There’s already a law that protects truck drivers! It’s been on the books for over 200 years. It’s called the 2nd Amendment. Here’s a crazy idea–how about our unconstitutional federal government allow us to exercise our rights?!
A few days ago I was shut down for my mandatory 10 hour break at a rest area (southbound I-75) near Jellico, TN right on the Kentucky border. It was approx 2 AM when I stopped so naturally there was no parking in the spaces within the rest area so I took my place on the shoulder along with a dozen or so other trucks. I was sound asleep when I was awoken by a knock on my door (always alarming and scary). I opened my front curtains first and saw a highway patrol car parked right in front of me, blue lights flashing and all. When I rolled my window down, the very first words out of the officer’s mother were “What are you up to?” (I am sleeping, you moron!) then he added “Besides parked on the shoulder”. He went on to tell me that he was giving me a $20 “warning” citation for parking illegally on the shoulder of a highway and told me that I know better to do that. He said also that my next ticket would be the “full fine” (for the record, he was polite). I guess it must be complete utopia on the highways of Tennessee now so the law enforcement is out doing the truly dangerous and brave tasks of ticketing truck drivers who are parked where they should not be- Not out of defiance, but because they have no choice.
Need to come up with a solution for the immediate and long term. Perhaps a petition for the following:
1. Parking lots such as Walmart, Home Depot, Government Areas to be made available for truckers who have reached their 10 hour limit.
a. This will help reduce the fatigued drivers trying to find a spot and getting n wrecks
b. City and counties that are ticketing fatigued and 10 hour drivers parking illegally and not providing spaces are fined.
2. All drivers are allowed to carry either Pepper Spray, Taser, Stun Gun or an exposed pistol.
3. All trucks have a camera to the front and back. If (LOL; when) a car breaks a law in front endangering the driver or others it is called in to the local police. This will be also on at truck stops and other parking areas.
a. This will help enforce the traffic law putting drivers in danger. With the public knowing this it would be less likely to break the law. Ask yourself if a person is more likely to go through a red light with a camera or with no camera?
b. Camera on all parking areas would allow for better security or deterrence.
c. Having a camera might entice some “Not so safe” drivers to improve their skills.
4. As Drivers for the most part have to be vetted by Homeland Security is a crime done against a driver not a federal crime and subject to a death penalty?
Can these issue be put through an association of Truck Driving Companies to Congress?
I like your thoughts on this. I couldn’t have said it better.
Also there is a survey for drivers now so their voices can be heard on the matter.
http://Www.surveymonkey.com/s/jasonslaw-truckdrivers-ata
Jasons family is local to my area here in upstate new york alot of work has been put in to get not only the law in place but also putting this “man” behind bars can’t let him walk free.
It should be mandatory that any load destined to a business that has available parking must let a driver park until they receive that load in and he can legally drive away from their premises!!!!! Isn’t that much more simple??
You bet Snakedoctor then the cops would ticket you for parking where it is posted Police Vehs. only. LOL
Yes parking is an issue. It has been ever since e-logs came into play. You have all these abandoned truckstops and warehouses all over,but most all blocked off or there’s so much debris that you risk damaging the equipment. My question is;is it possible that Jason could’ve stood a better chance if firearms were permitted to be used by drivers? Maybe,maybe not. The risk is the same whether its a truckstop,rest area,ramp or what have you. Even parking at your pickup or delivery point while they’re closed can be just as risky. So it basically boils down to “Damned if you do & damned if you don’t.”
this is just an awful thing that happened. I am a driver, i formerly worked for one of the major carriers and dealt a lot with walmart. I have got turned away from them for being 20 minutes early before. and most walmarts don’t ahve a place to park nearby even though they all ahve plenty of room on their property. now with the use of elogs this is going to be mroe and more of a problem. I think the receivers and shippers need to be responsible for giving us a place to park on their property. i like where greg was going as far as us being able to carry firearms with us. we go through and stay in some shady areas around this county and it would be nice to feel a little safer by carrying our guns with us. bottom line though i think these companies need to be held accountable and need to have places for drivers to park
I believe that irrelevant excuses are running all over the place. Some people are bad (period) .no matter where we park or go bad people will hunt for us. Why blame the place or lack of . So when it happens in a rest area then what. Or maybe the terminal or even just driving and a crazy one thinks of an ingenious way of stopping the truck and does it. ,, really come on quite crieing over what happened . Was it bad (yes) but it’s part of life we are all at risk and promised nothing at birth .
If these drivers were packing a firearm. I wonder if it would have another outcome. I think it would. We all need firearms to protect us I would never park anywhere without mine!!!!
Wayne, in this instance a firearm wouldn’t have helped. I live a short ways from where Jason lived and I know the story well. This article doesn’t make mention of how it happened.
Jason had just hung up with his wife, and was sitting in the driver seat. The savage that killed him literally walked up to the window and fired. There was no robbery and then a killing, that piece of garbage fired first then robbed a dead man. The initial report stated that jason never saw the guy, he stalked him and then ambushed him. So unfortunately, a gun probably would’ve ended up in the hands of the killer.
I’m a recently licensed commercial truck driver. The parking problem is definitely real. I’m writing a blog about how to resolve this issue. There are now apps that we can all use to located parking spots.
Maybe if drivers would have some respect for places like Wal-Mart and Lowes and home depot these places wouldn’t have an issue with drivers parking in their lots. But noooo. These so called truck drivers want to toss their piss bottles and trash all over the parking lot like a bunch of five year olds and ruin it for everyone. Grow up and act like adults and professionals and not scumbags.
Primal Screams you have hit the nail on the head, it is really disgusting how many of these so called professional drivers throw there trash and piss bottles where ever they feel like. I have always wanted to follow one of these shitheads to there homes and do the same thing and see how they liked it