Eight states form partnership to help truckers find parking
A group of midwestern states are launching a new system to give truck drivers access to real time information about truck parking availability.
The new system is called Trucks Park Here and it is designed to give truckers access to parking availability information through websites, newly erected highway signs, and smartphone applications.
The Trucks Park Here system will be available along major freight corridors in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
The Trucks Park Here system is set to become fully operational during the month of January of 2019 and some states like Minnesota and Ohio are already providing truck drivers with real time parking information.
Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe McGuinness told WSVX, “With much of that freight moving through Indiana on our highways, providing real-time information to truckers on where to find safe parking at the end of their shifts is one of the most effective ways we can preserve safety for all motorists. INDOT is proud to join seven other states in making interstate travel safer across our region.”
The Trucks Park Here System has been in development since 2016 and is funded in part through a $25 million federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant.
The program developers say that the new truck parking information system will generate over $403 million in benefits and will increase highway safety by cutting down on fatigued driving and reducing the number of truckers who are forced to park on highway ramps.
You can also take a look at the video below to learn more about how the Trucks Park Here system works.