FMCSA to survey thousands of truckers on ‘monetary benefits of creating new truck parking spaces’

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will survey thousands of semi truck drivers as part of an effort to “quantify the benefits of creating new truck parking spaces.”

Feds Plan To Study Cost Benefits Of More Truck Parking

In a Notice to be published in the Federal Register on November 28, the FMCSA announced a study that will involve collecting “approximately 1,000 survey responses from truck drivers about their experiences with finding truck parking spaces to estimate the monetary benefits of creating new truck parking spaces.”

FMCSA plans to survey “several thousand truck drivers, from a wide range of sectors” in order to obtain approximately 1,000 complete responses.

FMCSA notes that the ongoing nationwide truck parking shortage raises costs for consumers, harms highway safety, and “is a significant source of frustration for truck drivers.”

However, the agency points out that there is currently no solid research pointing to “the actual precise monetary benefits of new truck parking spaces,” which would include reduced crashes, cost savings for carriers, and better quality of life for truck drivers.

In an effort to rectify the lack of research on the monetary benefits of increased truck parking availability, FMCSA will conduct new research to help guide state and local policymakers.

Researchers To Ask Truckers For Parking Problem Info

Researchers plan to survey truckers for data on how often and how long they:

• Park in unauthorized spaces
• Stop driving early to obtain a parking space
• Drive off their routes to find parking
• Drive past hours-of-service limits to find parking

Researchers also will focus on collecting data to answer the following questions:

• How many trucks are parked in authorized and unauthorized areas per day, on average? In other words, how large is the nationwide shortage of truck parking spaces?
• What are the most cost-effective methods for increasing truck parking capacity?
• Which truck parking information management systems are used most often and are most effective?
• What percentage of drivers routinely make reservations, pay for parking, or use various other truck parking services?

FMCSA will accept public comment on the planned truck parking survey after the Notice is published in the Federal Register.