WSJ article: Too Many Trucks, Too Little Parking

Trucking companies need to come together and start a fund to build truck parking areas. I drive at night and sometimes it can take me a while to find a safe place to take my 30 minute break.

 

I had a situation in Aberdeen Maryland. 14 minutes on my 14 hour clock and the reciever will not let anyone stay there even when I was there for 7 hours. I did some research and found a walmart 10 miles away. I went there and there was no signs that said "no truck parking" so I pulled in and started my break. 3 hours later a manager come banging on my door and told me to leave or he was calling the cops. I told him to call the cops I'm not moving. Cops show up and I explained the situation and she talked to the manager. The cop comes and tells me I can stay but if my truck is there again I would be ticketed and truck will be towed. Wtf. That was the last time my family and I will ever step foot on any Walmart property again

 

Next time go in and speak to the manager...inform them of the situation. You would be surprised where you can park if you ask. Asking with a bag in hand of stuff you purchased helps to.

 

Been driving 3 years, done a LOT of northeast. I've always been perplexed by this "hour" number. Really? I've never had too much of a problem as long as I avoid the chain truck stops and opt for an indy, rest area, or truck pullover. Can't tell you how many times I've pulled into an indy at 9 PM and there's still plenty of parking (although I'm not talking northeast).

 

I don't think you can blame the shipper/receiver in most cases. And in many cases you can't blame cities for not wanting excess parking on streets especially in the winter to allow for plowing and sweeping.

It seems to me, if a shipper/receiver can accommodate "some" trucks during closed hours or prior to appointment, they do. But fences and security are put there for a reason. NOT to keep out truckers but to keep out anyone who may have illicit intentions. Doesn't do any good to have a security policy and measures in place, if you're going to leave it wide open for truckers. Not to mention the fact and common knowledge that many truckers are not overly concerned about being good stewards of another's property.

It's a problem, but it's being dealt with as it always has been. Nothing new here. Any new anti-truck policies that may be in place were probably brought on by the trucker's themselves, over time. Enough is enough, and cities responded to residents and commercial property owners' complaints. In case you don't know, commercial property is heavily taxed and often have very little if any staging area that can be accessed by "just anyone" 24/7. And they have a right to reasonable protection of their property values as anyone else.

 

Didn't intend to ruffle any feathers here. If you carefully re-read my post, I didn't make any generalization about 'uneducated truck-drivers'. I was only making the illustration that Chinatown probably would not care to be generalized as a 'dumb-trucker' in much the same manner he is generalizing small town law enforcement in the manner in which he did. In all walks of life, there are the very few that smear the reputation of the many, and we are all best served by understanding that concept and not drawing the generalizations that are so easy to draw.

As far as the occasional 'Barney Fife' waking you up in the middle of the nights, well, could be a couple of things here:

1) Most local (small town) cops (at least the ones I know) really don't understand HOS regulations, hence, they don't understand the problem of moving a mile down the road after your 11 or 14 is up, especially with eLogs.

2 )You may be dealing with a LEO who does understand, but is simply enforcing existing parking regulations. Perhaps the jurisdiction has adopted a 'zero tolerance' policy on infractions due to citizen complaints and he doesn't have a choice. Believe me, most cops really don't want to go banging on your door at 0300 any more than you want them to.

3) Ok, there are the very few that really are a bit overzealous and lack the ability to make a judgement call (the Barney Fifes). Don't know what to say about them - they've lost sight of the fact that law enforcement officers are primarily 'problem-solvers' and not 'ticket writers'. Those are the ones that cause me to shake my head....

I've been on both side of this problem, so I get it.

 

That's funny, the companies barely pay their drivers a decent wage, do you want to imagine what the parking situation would be if the companies were left in charge of it?

 

Average trucking company dispatcher: If yer parked, you ain't making me any money driver!

 

No feathers ruffled here.

Just going along with the stereotypes. If it clucks like a chicken sorta thing.

We (Truckers) have all at one point or another been in a situation where we felt unfairly singled out by law enforcement. Being married to a LEO and socializing with others in the profession, I have first hand inside knowledge that officers who approach me dont know I have. I have had 'professional courtesy' shown to me on more than a few occasions when my name was ran, but there are also those with a chip on their shoulder or just had a bad day and I'm at the wrong place at the wrong time.

I'm not sure about too many other places,.. but I know in Fla a good 30 - 50% of State and County officers really should not be in the profession they are in. Some I have met had me wondering how they got passed the psychological exam. The things admitted to me and things told to me in private, make NYC corruption look like a day in the park. LEO code of ethics have nothing to do with serve and protect except when it comes to another officer. The sworn oath is like a trucker with paper logs. Its more a matter of perception and what you can prove.

I'm not here to bad mouth officers. My wife is a very stand up and honest person. I wish I had an ounce of the integrity she has. As such,..many officers are and do take their job very seriously. And in many cases like you stated,.. when zero tolerance is in effect, its really out of their hands. The power of making a judgement call is taken out of their hands. The chain of command rolls down hill. The last thing a LEO wants is an hour of paperwork 10 mins before the end of shift. So I do understand both sides of the coin also.

Hurst

 

They would find some way to cash in on it. Much like trucks stops with reserved parking.