Rest area etiquette and what would you do?

Sounds to me that this is really bothering you.... maybe looking for someone to agree that these drivers need to be "educated"?? Well, mitrucker gave you the best advice.... end of discussion.... now it you want to be a narc.... I smell a RAT!

 

you weren't they when they parked, so you have no idea on what the surroundings looked like.

as long as traffic can get through, that's all that matters.

it's when your an idiot to begin with, and you go out of your way to really show it. like some do. then it's a problem. and i have no problems honking my horn.

 

Yup, but watch out in VA and MD. If you're out too far from the ramps, either going in or coming out, you may get a knock on the door from a trooper with a ticket.

Especially 83 at Shawans road exit at the wide spots on the shoulders. I always see troopers there handing out tickets, mostly during rush hours.

 

Worse yet is those that park on the highway shoulders..... IMHO... I had a buddy rear end one parked on the shoulder, he didn't survive, and to make matters worse, no lights whatsoever on the truck were on....
As for rest areas, I park wherever I can, I am new to trucking, but have had several safe parking areas not pan out for various reasons, just to name one, had to wait 25 min to get out of a FULL truckstop, as someone was having a difficult time backing into the last spot, thereby blocking my exit... I only had 38 minutes left on my 14, so luckily found a spot but that stuff happens... we just do not know what situation the drivers' may have had to deal with... as long as WE are all courteous to fellow drivers, by leaving ways to enter and exit... no harm no foul

 

You can say what you want, but your own quote which I had inserted earlier, made it sound as if we could all just look into that little truckstop pocketbook and all our parking situations would be resolved.... We just do not know why someone may have parked in a spot, and as long as it is safe, and allows us to enter and exit, I am fine with that.
I didn't say you were a narc, but you countered with the aforementioned quote instead of letting it go... as for that quote I mentioned, if you have seen the movie "The Departed", you would understand... Jack Nicholson was great in that movie. Sorry if you took it the wrong way, but there are already way too many people watching ALL of us truckers, and would love nothing more than to stick it to us...

 

You don't know if they just parked 5 minutes ago, or 9 hours ago. And you have no idea what spaces, if any, were available when they parked and went to sleep. What you see now is not what they saw when they pulled the curtains. If their truck is blocking your entrance or exit, or it is on fire, then by all means wake them up. If not, then let them be.

I've had people block me in after I parked. When I was ready to go, I just tap on their truck, let them know I was leaving and asked if they wanted my spot.

 

I just can't get over how many drivers have no trouble at all about calling in on a driver for the smallest of reasons. What da heck has happened to this industry. Hey noob ... you want someone following you around recording your futile attempts at backing into tight spaces or whatever it is that you may be having trouble with at any particular moment in time and sending it in to your company. I'm not saying there aren't times that you SHOULDN'T call in on a driver, but almost every one of them are safety related. I make it a habit to take my grievances to the source of the problem which is the other driver if at all possible. I realize that there are situations that happen all day, every day, which force a driver to do some things which could be considered less than optimal and if you are out here long enough they will happen to you too, but I'm not a petty person and I believe that ratting on a driver is the LAST choice ... not the first. It's like trying to make a tight turn on a side street with a 4-wheeler parked forward of the stop line ... he won't back up to give you a little more room to work with and yet he is perfectly willing to call in on you saying that you came too close to his car with your rear end ... what a "crock" ... come on people .... let's stop being so darn petty. If you are going to be a professional, you have to be a grown-up first.