Taking your 10hr break on the shoulder, the best you can do?

You listed one topic, and you did it very well. However, there’s about 1000 more potential exposures to liability for all of us out here. In most of those instances, it’s the only profession that yields this type of liability. Even doctors are less vulnerable than us. And then incidences where there in an accident or a mishap. It isn’t black-and-white. This person’s at fault or that person‘s at fault. They put a percentage of the blame on you and trust me. The lawyers will find a way to put a percentage on you even it is 100% seemingly the others fault and based on that percentage a jury can issue an award. It’s insane! Every day, you’re out here, every mile you drive you are risking everything you’ve ever worked for.

 

Maybe they should build more truck parking and it wont ever be a problem. U ever notice in states like texas where there is plenty of parking nobody is parked on shoulders or ramps?

 

This is "the other side" of the discussion. In all too many places -- there simply is not genuinely enough safe, legal, truck-friendly parking.

Generally speaking....the further east (& north) you go -- the bigger this problem becomes. Yes....extreme southern FL is an exception -- I get that.

And don't even get me started on what truck parking is like in & near many urban areas....& especially major cities.

-- L

 

I get parking on the shoulder as a LAST resort.
But what about the guys who do it as their first choice?
With the multiple parking apps giving you a pretty good idea of where the truck stops are and the parking status, combined with even a small modicum of experience in that state or region, except for very specific areas, better options are usually available.

Case in Point: I-65 NW Indiana Lafayette IN mm 175 to Hebron IN mm 240.
All of these are within reasonable driving of Chicago Metro area within 1-2 hours the next am, presumably where a lot of these drivers are headed.

6 exits in 60 miles
2 Pilots, 2 Loves, 2 Petro/TA. 1 Flying J, 5 independents, 10 or more Fast food joints with significant parking
4 major rest areas, including a brand new huge welcome center. 2 of them being made even larger with renovations now.
My favorite is an independent on exit 205. 5 trucks parked on the exit shoulder. He has a minimum of 50 spaces available every night.
Only the Pilots are consistently full. less so the other majors. All of these truck stops have large parking areas.
None of this 5 spaces at a Speedway crXp.

Every exit ramp will have 2-10 trucks parked every night on the ramps. Indiana State Police have given up enforcing it.
Don't get me started.

 

Why park on the ramps? That will get you an extra 3 to 5 minutes on your drive line since you don't have to navigate the truck stop parking lot and associated side street lights and stop signs. The same reason drivers park on the shoulder to do their 30 minute break.

 

If that extra 3-5 minutes makes that much of a difference, I would say the driver either needs to make a better plan or find another company/segment of the industry to work for.

I know we all have touted at some point or another how we barely made it to XYZ with X amount of minutes (or seconds) left on our 11. In a few instances that is legit the case. But one thing I learned as I got more experience in this game (amd thankfully at the time I ran longhaul with a company that gave me breathing room to do this), is to plan my days in 600-mile increments. Most of the time, that's ten hours of driving, give or take 30 minutes at 65mph (dependent on terrain and traffic, of course). I considered anything beyond that a bonus. Once I learned to drop that pressure off myself, things became so much less stressed out on those roads! I also got really good at Google-mapping any and everything around wherever I planned to stop to see if the satellites showed any trucks parked, and I always took notes of new little "hide holes" I'd see trucks parked as I passed them during my trips. All this was in addition to using this forum, the Trucker Path app, and the truck stop directory I used to have just to scout places. (All that definitely helps out west, especially the PNW where I primarily ran back and forth from the midwest and southeast). Use all the info available, make the best plan, plan several alternatives, make mental notes of where stuff is, track times (and weather) well, and it helps immensely.

(And again, admittedly, it helped that I ran longhaul mostly cross-country industrial equipment on flatbed back then, so my deadlines were a little more relaxed than shorter-haul stick-and-brick or other general freight haulers. )

 

I hear what you're saying, but I'm not on board. It'd be nice if you could park in a conventional parking spot every night. I will park on an on-ramp and go to sleep. It's actually one of my favorite spots to sleep. I've been out here a while so I know which ones to use.....and which states allow it. I-81 through Virgina and PA is a high truck traffic area. You can plan all you want to, and it's still going to be a crap shoot that you'll get a place to sleep. No 2 drivers have the same schedule. Plans change with regularity in this industry, and if you run out of time, or get sleepy, it's just what it is. You laid out a couple of instances about those drivers killing people. Some of those druevrs fall asleep at the wheel. Me personally, I'd rather those drivers pull over on those ramps and sleep than for them to drive tired, fall asleep at the wheel, and kill themselves or somebody else.

 

Also, why are you worried about how other people view you? I fail to understand the embarrassment of being a trucker. Insecurities maybe? Anyway, you're a trucker. So what? You're contributing to our society in a big way. You're earning a living and if people can't respect it, their problem.