Safe Parking for Truck Drivers: H.R. 2156: Jason's Law
You Can't Just Park a Semi Truck Anywhere. Be Careful Where You Do
After driving long hours a driver usually looks for a truck stop to pull in for the night or before he or she loads or unloads if they are to early to do so but sometimes there is no place to park or there are no truck stops around so they may park along the highway, at a gas station, at a rest area or other unsafe places.
Parking in these places can be very dangerous, they are normally not lighted well and criminals tend to hang around these areas waiting for someone to rob or worse. So be sure to start checking for truck stops like Pilot, Loves, Flying J, Petro and TA before your shift is up or even better yet before you start your shift.
Buying a truck stop directory which has the highway routes, off ramps to take and restaurants at the truck stops can help you find a safe truck stop to park your truck for the night. Some of them also have shower facilities, a trucker's lounge, 24 hour mechanics on duty and laundry facilities.
In March 2009 a truck driver by the name of Jason Rivenburg was to early for his delivery so he parked his truck at an abandoned gas station in South Carolina 12 miles away that had been used by other truck drivers. Unfortunately Jason was shot and killed while he rested in his truck.
His family and friends have started a petition called Jason's Law to bring attention to legislators the issues of unsafe lighting and unsecured parking areas that truck drivers face.
Link to Jason's family website, the YouTube video and the petition will be in the resources links at the bottom right of this article.
Drive safely and God bless you for all you do.
Published by Kelli Stowe
I am a mother of three ~ a grandmother of two ~ a child rights advocate ~ creator of Associated Content Members Support group on Care2. View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentMy son is a trucker and has had to park in some scary places because he was out of hours. I totally support Jason's law
Safe secured Parking in Az Check out Security Truck Park @ securitytruckpark.com. Drivers can sleep safe and not worry or drop their trailer and run their errands
Useful reminders especially for weary drivers in a hurry to get a few winks or a good rest...
This is very informative...
we tend to forget that truckers are doing something for our benefit. if i had to pay a tiny bit more for groceries so that security guards could be posted at all the stops, i'd do it.
I am an ex-truckdriver myself and know for a fact there are not enough safe parking places for 18 wheelers. It is another cause of 18 wheeler accidents. Drivers trying to find someplace to park period much less a safe place, and a tired driver is an unsafe driver. There need to be more roadside parking places for 18's and they need to be well lit, and patrolled regularly by state or local police. The local police need to be more aware of the laws that drivers have to go by as well. Once in sleeper berth, they are not supposed to move their vehicle for a period of 10 hrs. Used to, they could split 5 and 5, but recent DOT regulations has done away with the split sleeper berth. This is something the local authorities need to be aware of instead of making a driver leave after a two hr period, as I have run into a number of times at roadside parks.
Will be interesting to see the effect of this petition. We used to travel extensively and just never felt safe parking in those types of areas, even for a short time. You're a gutsy person, Kelli!
Semi trucks are dangerous everywhere but they should be parked in a well lit area at all times and that is a fact.
I think they should have be well lit up even if they are parked because if they are not many people just might not see them because to me they are like buiding on wheels and that i s fact.