Letter to EPW Committee Urging Support for More Truck Parking
November 6, 2023
Dear Chairman Kelly and Ranking Member Cramer,
We write to express our support for S. 1034, the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, in advance of your Subcommittee’s hearing on highway safety. This bipartisan legislation addresses an important safety concern that negatively affects the trucking industry, the American public, and the national supply chain. We greatly appreciate your individual support for this legislation, and we hope that this hearing makes clear the urgent need for the Committee on Environment & Public Works and the Senate to move this legislation forward.
Safe and adequate truck parking facilities are an integral part of the nation’s supply chain. Expanding truck parking capacity will provide additional safe places for the nation’s truck drivers to stop and rest, as they deliver America’s economy and keep the supply chain moving. When truck drivers park in unsafe or unauthorized areas, including highway shoulders and off-ramps, or continue to drive in violation of federal hours-of-service regulations or beyond the point where they feel comfortable because they can’t find parking, it jeopardizes the safety of truck drivers and the general public, leading to congestion, accidents, and other hazardous scenarios.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has studied this issue extensively and consistently concluded that virtually every state and region of the country – from California to New York – would benefit from additional truck parking capacity. In its most recent survey from 2019, DOT found that growth in truck parking hasn’t kept pace with increasing truck traffic.
Truck drivers are the backbone of our nation's economy, ensuring the efficient delivery of goods that sustain our everyday lives. The reliability of our supply chain depends on them, and it is imperative that we prioritize their safety and well-being. The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act represents a crucial step towards achieving this goal.
Passing the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act will have far-reaching benefits:
• Improved Driver Well-being: Safe and secure parking options will contribute to the physical and mental well-being of truck drivers, ensuring they are well-rested and alert while operating commercial motor vehicles.
• Better Driver Recruitment and Retention: Professional drivers have made it very clear the lack of truck parking is one of their top safety concerns, adding unnecessary stress, frustration, and fatigue to a job that is already incredibly challenging. The current truck parking crisis is negatively affecting the recruitment and retention of truckers. Addressing this concern will improve working conditions for every trucker, encouraging more to enter and remain in the industry.
• Maximizes Federal Dollars: The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act recognizes the important role that travel centers and truck stops play in serving America’s long-haul truck drivers by allowing public entities receiving a grant to partner with private truck parking providers to expand truck parking capacity nationwide. With more than 5,000 Interstate truck stops and travel centers providing 90 percent of the truck parking capacity in the United States, truck stops and travel centers play a key role in addressing any state concerns over truck parking capacity.
• Enhanced Highway Safety: Safer parking options will lead to a reduction in accidents, breakdowns, and incidents on our highways, ultimately enhancing the safety of all road users. Recent tragedies, such as the fatal bus accident in Illinois involving trucks parked outside of designated spaces at a rest area, illustrate these risks. Unfortunately, these types of incidents are far too common because of today’s parking crisis.
• Economic Prosperity: A robust trucking industry is vital to the nation's economy. On average, drivers waste roughly an hour of productive driving time each day searching for parking or shutting down early because they found a place to safely rest. This legislation will reduce the amount of time drivers waste looking for parking, which will improve efficiency within the supply chain, benefitting American businesses and consumers.
• Reduced Roadway Congestion: Increasing designated truck parking spaces will reduce the congestion caused by drivers searching for limited spaces and trucks parked in inappropriate locations.
We urge you to prioritize consideration of the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act in the EPW Committee and the Senate. We hope that the Committee will follow the lead of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, which approved companion legislation earlier this year by a vote of 60 to 4.
There isn’t any other transportation or infrastructure related issue where you will find unanimous agreement among industry stakeholders. S. 1034 represents a balanced, practical, and effective solution to a long-standing problem that affects the trucking industry, the driving public, and American businesses and consumers. Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.
Sincerely,
Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association
American Chemistry Council
Consumer Brands Association
National Association of Small Trucking Companies
Truckload Carriers Association
Institute for Safer Trucking
Road Safe America
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance
Mid-West Truckers Association
FMI – The Food Industry Association
Transportation Intermediaries Association
Women In Trucking
American Apparel & Footwear Association
American Trucking Associations
Agriculture Transportation Coalition – AgTC
American Highway Users Alliance
Retail Industry Leaders Association
North American Punjabi Trucking Association
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
National Association of Truck Stop Operators