Sleeping on the shoulder on exit

Oh my.
I hope you're alright. And I'm sorry you got hurt.

But, the short answer to your question is, no, they can't force you to drive. They can tow you, but they can't force you to drive.

And they did not. You chose to drive.

 

What's disgusting is those same state troopers will pull you over and give you a DOT inspection on the shoulder of the highway, where it's illegal to park.

 

no, the police are basically blameless, they are enforcing the laws we all gripe about when we see something happen, and there is no cop around, when you need one.

the cop did not force you to drive, you did that on your own.

i think it goes to be said, if there is another "next time" you need to find a place to stop, legally and get your rest, like in a rest area, truck stop, shopping mall, etc.

you have to be more concerned now that you had a major wreck, and whether or not you still have a job, since you fell asleep at the wheel.....

 

Yep. You got much, much bigger fish to fry

 

Ramps and the shoulder of an interstate should never be utilized as a parking option when you need a nap. Only for emergency breakdowns etc etc... Starting to see this way to much out here.

 

You moved the truck.

What should have happened was the truck never moved and you are arrested and taken. Then the Courts will decide whats legal or not when the Law says move it vs your too tired to move it.

I always tried to get rested where the Law wont bother me, but once in a while it was unavoidable. Those times the lawman would know I am pretty far gone and left the door shut for the rest of the night in a couple extremely busy places.

 

Sleeping on the exit ramp was never an option for me and will never be.

I hope you will be OK.


BUT, where are those voices that advocated for the introduction of elogs and caused the shortage of designated truck parking spaces.

I can't hear any of those voices calling for more truck parking.

 

I-81 is one of the major and top truck routes for all mid-atlantic, northeast USA and western USA. if you built parking for all of the trucks using it each hour for 10 hours total in the night end to end, about 450 miles of it... you will learn that it will never be enough no matter how big you paved several states. We will fill it to overflowing, then throw out the trash all over it.

There has been times I would ask myself am I strong enough or awake enough to say get to Tennessee before I got to tired to hold er on that 81. The result would be finding that parking spot in PA the time she was loaded to get rested and change the appt time or be late and endure the yelling from dispatch.

Of all the roads Ive run that one in Virginia I would know like the back of my hand, even more so than I-70. And some nights there is no parking to be found anywhere along that entire stretch.

 

I know the I81 is a major transportation corridor.

The population needs trucks to haul in their daily supplies. The trucker, in turn, needs the parking spaces to do the job.
The society can't only have the good, thay have to take the bad as well. That does not mean that I'm a friend of parking lots full of p### and s###.