The pain in all trucker’s existence: parking. This issue has persistently been a top-ranking concern for truckers over many decades. There have been many attempts to tackle this problem but very few promising outcomes. Many find themselves asking “what will it take for this industry to have better options for parking?”

Top Factors Causing Parking Shortages

Safety

All truckers are aware of the safety issues surrounded by parking, whether long-term parking or daily parking. There are too many stories about tragic deaths related to unsafe truck parking, some that have even passed laws to try and combat these situations. Jason’s law was created after the tragic death of a trucker who was shot and killed after he was forced to park under unsafe conditions due to the lack of accessible parking. This law has tried to regulate truck parking by improving existing parking infrastructure and promote the availability of all private and public parking options.

Awareness

Industry experts believe that the problem doesn’t stem from lack of spaces but rather lack of knowledge and awareness of these available spaces and how to access them. Many yards and other trucking options are available all over the United States, but there are very few efforts to market and create awareness of these spaces.

ELD Requirements

ELD (Electronic Logging Devices) have required all drivers to digitally log their records of service (ROS) and hours of service (HOS). This is a huge switch from what was previously the industry standard- the honor system. This requirement has put stricter supervision on the driver’s schedule and makes it almost impossible to break any hours-of-service rules. The ELD enforcement has held drivers accountable for rest times by forcing them to find parking.

Finding Semi Truck Parking

There are a few already existing options available to help find parking for semi-truck drivers. For daily parking, the most widely used option are the chain semi parking companies- Loves and Pilot Flying J. These truck stops provide many amenities on top of daily parking including fueling, food, showers, Wi-Fi, etc. Most truck drivers utilize these options for daily parking or general short-term parking. Long-term semi-truck parking is less commercialized and generally harder to find. STOW IT provides many options for monthly or long-term semi parking. STOW IT finds individuals and companies with the space available to store semi-trucks for longer periods of time. These spots can be found on STOW IT’s website and all booking and payments are processed through the website as well.