Jason’s Law Parking Shortage Study Results Released

The Department of Transportation has released the results of a truck parking survey put into motion by Jason’s Law and declared that truck parking shortages are a national safety concern.

Study Confirms That Parking Shortage is Widespread

The study found that even areas with high concentrations of truck parking spots still reported problems and parking shortages in almost every state — 90% of drivers reported having trouble finding a spot, especially on weekdays. 72.5 % of state DOTs reported that there was a problem with commercial vehicle parking in their state. Truck stop operators reported that they needed more parking and said that they would add an average of 50 spots if possible, though very few had immediate plans to do so.

The states that reported the most severe truck parking problems are New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, Washington, and Oregon.

Study Highlights the Need for Solutions

U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary Victor Mendez said, “We know truck parking has been a longstanding problem in our nation – we need new approaches to fix it. Now more than ever, this country needs better planning, investment and involvement of all those who have a stake in safe truck parking.”

The Federal Highway Administration says that they plan to fight the parking deficit with funds from the GROW AMERICA Act, which provides $18 million for targeted investments in freight infrastructure. The US DOT and National Coalition on Truck Parking have also announced plans to work together to find solutions for the parking problem.

Jason’s Law is named for truck driver Jason Rivenburg who was murdered in 2009 during a robbery attempt that occurred because of a shortage of truck parking.

Sources:
US DOT