most truck friendly states? least truck friendly states?

IN all the years I drove I-25 in N.M. from Raton to Alb., I've never seen them stop a truck, someone must really be doing something bad to attract that kind of attention.

 

It was on the i-40 in nm on two seperate occasions. The first time in about a 40 mile stretch i saw about 5-6 big rigs pulled over.

 

I think there are certain small coops in many states that exist just to inspect as many trucks as possible and many supercoops that just look for obvious red flags. The friendliest officers I've encountered are in Wyoming....hands down. I've heard people complain about them ,but they were the type of driver that's always trying to get away with something.....probably got a reputation with them.

 

This largely depends on what you consider "truck friendly."
For parking, Vermont is the absolute worst. There are only a couple of truck stops in the entire state - other than that your options are either rest areas (few and far between) those pull-off areas along state routes that seem to be all over the state, and/or a friendly shipper/receiver who is willing to let you park there for the night if you run out of hours (In my experience, I never had a problem parking overnight at a shipper or receiver in Vermont, though)

Illinois can be pretty bipolar in terms of DOT personnel. There's a guy who works the weigh stations along I-74 outside Bloomington/Normal and I-55 near Springfield who is an absolute abusive jerk, who loves to remind you that there is nothing you can do about it. Loves to make idle threats and be rude.

Ohio (where I'm from) gets a bad rap, but is actually one of the friendlier states as long as you don't speed in construction zones.

Shipping/Receiving personnel are the rudest in New York (state) - ESPECIALLY around Buffalo, Indiana, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Allen at ConAgra in Milton, PA is so rude that when I still drove I told all my dispatchers never to send me to ConAgra in Milton ever again.

Every DOT inspection I ever had was in Illinois. Those guys were actually friendly. The staff at weigh stations in Illinois is by far the rudest of any I've encountered, especially along I-74 outside Bloomington/Normal and I-55 near Springfield. Wyoming was by far the friendliest. I stopped at the weigh station along I-90 east of Gillette on one trip running from Williamsport, PA to Seattle, WA because my PrePass didn't give me a signal, and the woman there seemed like she was going out of her way to be nice.

Vermont and Oregon usually get the worst reputation for being truck unfriendly due to their permit requirements. is the least truck-friendly state in terms of permits and truck parking situations. There are only a couple of truck stops in the entire state. However, nearly all shippers will allow you to park in their lots, and the rest areas are without a doubt the cleanest and among the safest in the country. Don't take US 4 in though unless you have a trip permit in advance.

 

IL isn't that bad but I saw many times the DOT setting up random scales on roads around Chicago. Not sure if that goes on in more rural parts of the state. Oh and the most truck unfriendly town around Chicago is Palatine. They're the only small municipality I've ever seen that has their own truck enforcement division.

 

Colorado is the friendliest trucking state. I was on I70 west bound at the first scale house. The DOT officer was a beautiful blonde. The rest is fantasy.

 

Being a spoiled local driver my whole career, can someone fill me in on what exactly makes my home state one of the least friendly states? I have a couple things that I find annoying, but I'd like to hear from you folks that travel around the country...

 

Seattle parking from the west is not good...

 

Most truck friendly? I'd have to say Iowa. Weigh stations are rarely open, not a whole lot of traffic, well behaved drivers, plenty of places to park & grab a meal, good roads, and some of the nicest people in the country. Honorable mention goes out to Wisconsin and Missouri as well. Basically all of the Midwest. Even Chicago has been adding a few truckstops for us.

Least truck friendly? California. By a tremendous margin. Emission laws, idiotic 55 mph speed limit, rude drivers, super coops everywhere that are ALWAYS open, horrible traffic in LA and SF, absolutely nowhere to park (especially around Sacramento & SF).. Honorable mention goes out to Florida and Massachusetts as well, mostly for the lack of parking.