The Department of Transportation held a meeting on September 30, 2022, to discuss funding for truck parking. Amongst attendees were state, industry and federal leaders at the National Coalition of Truck Parking meeting. At this meeting, which was virtually available to the public, the DOT shared a new state handbook outlining strategies for developing truck parking as well as best practices for designing and constructing new truck parking. Officials also talked about new and expanded funding sources for truck parking projects.
According to the DOT, the meeting expanded on the commitments made in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Trucking Action Plan, which addressed driver recruitment and other issues. Truck parking has been one of the most frequently raised issues with DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg during his tenure. The American Trucking Associations and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association wrote to the DOT earlier this year, claiming that 98% of drivers have difficulty finding safe parking, costing drivers more than 56 minutes of drive time. That lost time is estimated to cost $5,500 in annual compensation, or about a 12% pay cut.
“I’ve heard from countless truckers across the country about how the shortage of truck parking costs them time and money — not to mention making our roads less safe and weakening our supply chains,” Buttigieg said. “We’re using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help address truck parking shortages, and we’re working with state and industry leaders to develop more parking that will improve safety and quality of life for our nation’s truck drivers.”
DOT highlighted recent truck parking investments made through the INFRA program, including a $15 million investment to add approximately 120 new truck parking spaces along the I-4 corridor in Florida between Tampa and Orlando, and a $22.6 million investment to add approximately 125 spaces along I-40 east of Nashville. Through its High Priority Innovative Technology Deployment grants, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also awarded Montana and Kentucky $1.4 million in grant funding to improve truck parking. “Driver fatigue is one of the leading causes of truck crashes,” said FMCSA Administrator Robin Hutcheson. “It is obvious that adequate rest for drivers is critical to safe operations.” Drivers have spoken loud and clear: they need more places to rest and to feel safe and secure while doing so. We are proactively working at the local and regional level to point to the numerous resources across DOT for truck parking construction, expansion, and technology solutions, and we will continue to work collaboratively with agencies within DOT and with all of our partners in the industry.”
