There aren't nearly enough overnight parking spots for the nation's estimated 13 million trucks.
ST. LOUIS — Big rig driver David Cherno was hauling Jimmy Dean sausages on Interstate 70 when he had to stop for the night or risk violating federal regulations limiting driving time for truckers. An Illinois rest area was full, so Cherno parked on the wide shoulder of the exit ramp leading to it — a common practice for truck drivers.
As a result, truckers nearing their hourly limits are often forced to find alternative spots to pull off for the night. Many opt for highway off-ramps, especially those at rest areas. The practice is illegal in Illinois and most states but police often look the other way, aware of the plight truckers face. Illinois State Police also are investigating they Greyhound crash and it isn't clear if truckers who were parked near the ramp could be ticketed.
"I was 15 minutes from Troy, but these electronic logs will violate you for driving 10 extra minutes to find a parking space," Cherno said. Collin Long, director of government affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said truckers are often faced with parking on a ramp or finding a remote location off the highway, a spot that has its own dangers.
Executive Director Zach Cahalan of the Truck Safety Coalition, which seeks to reduce deaths and injuries resulting from accidents involving trucks, said that before electronic monitoring, paper log books"were referred to as comic books commonly in the industry because they were fiction" and easy to falsify.
It isn't known how many accidents nationally involve parked trucks. Studies in two states found alarming numbers.
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