Transportation Department to Conduct New Truck Parking Survey

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration has posted a notice indicating that it intends to conduct a new survey and assessment of truck parking facilities.

The FHWA will survey DOT personnel in each state about the location, number of spaces, availability and demand for truck parking in their state. This includes rest facilities, truck parking information systems, truck parking plans, and any obstacles states may face in providing adequate truck parking facilities.

The survey will also seek input from private truck stop operators, as well as trucking companies and drivers, in order to get a complete view of the scope of the truck parking shortage.

The survey proposal is currently up for public comment on the regulations.gov website. It wants to know how the public feels about the necessity of the survey, and how it could improve its analysis of truck parking and the dissemination of its findings.

The agency's last truck parking survey in 2014 found that most states had truck parking shortages at virtually every time and day of the week. With the electronic logging device mandate, parking is even more critical for drivers who need to be much more strict about their tracking of available hours. The longer it takes to find parking, the more likely they may be to use illegal or subpar choices.

Related: NATSO Report Finds Rest Areas Reduce Overall Truck Parking Capacity