Reserved Parking

I have a dog, so I probably get out and move around a little more than someone who runs 8 hours, takes their 30, and runs 3 more. If I’m waiting at a stop I’m usually outside the truck. Rarely do I wake up and have to pee in the middle of the night.

 

Love reserved parking.
I go from Idaho Falls to Phoenix fairly often with a two pickup load. After 12 o'clock you can forget about finding a spot. The reserved usually sells out by 9am. I reserve my spot the day before, run hard to get a 10 hr reset on the way and still make it early enough to do another reset so I can deliver early in the morning and run the next day. That's trip planning.

I wouldn't mind if all parking was reserved. If all spots charged the cost would just be written into the rate just like fuel. You want more parking, make it worthwhile to build more parking. Why do drivers feel entitled to free parking?

 

Well you can look at the thread I created here in the Truck Stops section of the forum about Nebraska being ashamed of itself for how small their rest areas are, specifically among I-80. In that thread the comment after my OP has something like 30 likes. And that comment argues against the state of Nebraska expanding existing rest areas or building new ones.

So when you have truck drivers that argue against having more truck parking, what do you expect the end result to be?

The hilarious thing is that I saw at least one person who liked the 2nd post in the thread I just mentioned, the post that argued against having more truck parking spaces/facilities built, one of the forum members who liked that 2nd post in that thread has now come on in this thread and admitted to parking in reserve parking without paying for it.

I mean, you can't make this #### up.

So you ask why it's difficult for drivers to respect the reserved parking spots, it's because their fellow drivers will openly advocate against building more truck parking for truckers. So this is the result that you get.

 

Oh boy. The thing you keep ignoring in your other thread is that the state of NE can’t simply just take someone’s land to build more truck parking. If they started coming in and using eminent domain to get the land then those people would be out of office so quick, and the politicians know that, so they leave the subject alone.

 

wish we could trip plan that accident that shuts down the interstate or customer that takes forever unloading

 

If you think your load is so critical that any delay is unacceptable, you need to buy a C-130 and fly your load. If you need a parking spot, buy land along the way and create one.

 

I always laugh at the so very generic statement of trip planning that’s usually followed by calling someone a steering wheel holder. If you can 100% tell me how many trucks will be parked in any truck stop 2-3 days from now you have a Hell of a magic 8 ball. There’s a difference between making it work and trip planning. If you are not booking spots ahead of time and having them waiting for you when you arrive you’re merely just making it work and lucking out.

 

I've just seen the dumbest thing - guy paid for reserved parking but parked in a non-paid spot. Plenty of paid spots open all night long (Lowell, IN), and he was likely parked before the refund/cancelation cut off.

 

Back to the OP, which was NOT a debate on the merits of reserved parking.
It was a legitimate question about why one driver (the thief) is so willing to steal from another driver( the one who paid for the parking spot.)
And that is exactly what is going on here.
It would be no different than if that thief helped himself to a couple of chain binders, a fuel cap, or some tarp straps on your truck.
These thing cost about the same as a nights reserved space. The victim would have to replace them out of his pocket at some point in the future.

As to why, it is not hard to answer.
46 years ago when I started trucking, thieves stole fuel caps, binders etc. But it was the frequency that is different now.
It is a direct indication of the decline in the civility towards fellow human beings. And it isn't only in trucking.

 

I've gotta say I've done that, reserved and got there to find that a non paid spot might help in keeping my fenders overnight. I tell them and they usually refund, but if not it's worth the nights sleep to me. Some of these " Prime spots " aren't exactly prime.