At the end of a long day of driving, the last thing you’re going to want to do is pull in to rest area after rest area looking for a spot and discovering that all the spaces are taken. If you’ve hit the wall and you know you need to rest, pushing on to the next rest area when you’re already dead tired can be dangerous. Not only that, but federally mandated HOS rules mean you have to keep to your hours exactly. Well, it looks like Minnesota truck stops are trying to lend a helping hand.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation is trying out a pilot program that would put cameras in their parking lots so that they know exactly how many spaces are open. An operator can update the data in real time and relay the information via in-cab messaging and signage along I-94.
“The project will test whether this information improves truck drivers’ ability to find parking and reduce driver fatigue,” says MnDOT’s website. “When a truck approaches a digitized buffer at 20-, 10-, 5- or 1-mile points, the driver receives a notification indicating how many spaces are available at each upcoming parking facility. This particular system ensures that drivers are not in violation of the new federal ban on texting and cell phone use.”
So hopefully the system and data will be kept up-to-date and drivers won’t have to cruise around parking areas only to find that all of the spots are taken. This is a nice change that shows that state DOTs are taking at least little steps to help drivers get the rest they need and stay within their hours. It’s not addressing the larger issue that there is simply not enough parking, but at least it’s a start.
Next Story: Driving Tired? FMSCA Publishes New Sleep Study Results
Source: Overdriveonline
I can see it now. “NUMBER OF SPACES AVAILABLE: 1”
You pull in there, drive all over the place, and there’s a spot between a light pole, a boulder and a Dumpster that you could probably wiggle in if you had a 30′ trailer and could somehow lift the rear axle off the ground.
OTR trucking on the east coast sucks.
Another idea I had, no one will be satisfied anyway.
I have stopped for the night exactly once in 12 years at a public rest stop. Why offer up my paycheck to a DOT jackboot? Also, there are thousands of people bumming around this country on the highways. Often seen in rest areas, they’ll knock you on the head for your wallet. I always park on private property-truck stop, factory, warehouse, street. If you park with other trailers out of the way, stay in the rig and don’t throw trash they’ll leave you alone. East Coast is tough, but from Ohio, I stay in PA for the night, run into Jersey or CT. and get right back out.
The fact that only one state wants to deal with an epidemic problem demonstrates the complete lack of concern the DOT has for drivers who put their lives on the line every day. Everyone wants their freight, but no one wants to deal with the trucks or the truck drivers who bring them their freight.
So, instead of a ‘doing a study’ of actually have someone go out at night at midnite, and see how many spots are open and REALIZE that every single rest area in the state is usually FULL AT MIDNITE, they have decided the only solution to THIS problem is to not ‘build more Rest Areas’. Oh no, the Politicians decide it best to HIRE more people on the taxpayer back, and install this high dollar video equipment and all it will ‘show’ is that there still ‘isn’t enough spots to park at midnite”.
This is the how politicians and the ‘hired help’ we tax payers have voted in, solve problems. Too bad they can’t do a simple survey and decide ‘we need to build more spots to park’. Save the money to use for making NEW, and MORE, Rest Areas.
Once they get enough places to ‘satisfy the demand’ for spots, maybe THEN do a camera thing if there is enough money, tho really it wouldn’t be needed if there were enough spaces in the first place! Idiots.
It is pathetic. Build more Rest Areas, you Morons. You stupid moron Politicians, build MORE REST AREAS. THAT is what is needed. Not wasting money on crap that won’t matter anyway if the rest area is full!
They should have bigger truck parking areas. Especially on east coast. Closed old rest areas should get remodeled to accommodate cmv. If you start your day at 4am, you’ll be able to find plenty of spaces at rest areas and truck stops. Start later or get hold up at shippers/receivers and its a crap shoot
The process of a driver reading the notice (I assume on their phone) is a violation of the no text laws. So the state is encouraging the flaunting of the law?
SOUNDS GD ALTHOUGH THEY SHOULD PUT UP SIGNS NO 4 WHEELERS ALLOWED WHERE TRUCKS NEED TO PARK OR HAPPY CAMPERS WHO CAN GO TO RV PLACES AND ARE NOT UNDER STRICT DOT REGS.. AND YES WILL IT END THERE NO..TEY WILL FIND AWAY TO MAKE SURE U ARE ONLY THERE FOR YOUR ALLOWED TIME THEN U WILL BE FINED FOR STAYING LONG..
Some states have state troopers hand out fines for sleeping on ramps and off rest area ramps. Most of the time troopers are kind, they know drivers wouldn’t park there unless they were tired, so they wake drivers and give them 10 minutes to move or get a ticket. Sometimes they offer suggestions where to park to keep drivers safe and prevet tihem from getting tickets later. I have a suggestion. Just take any ramp that leads you to any town within 10 miles of the interstate. Between the interstate and the town look for any wide spot to park five feet away from edge of road. Ive even asked farmers with large parking lots for permission to park and promised to be gone in 10 hours. Most people are very nice and would let you or even suggest a wide spot to park near town.
Well it’s a start.I’m retired after 35 yrs. so I’ve been there. It could have a positive effect just having cameras will deter most of the crime not all but as long as they use a live person updating if anything fishy is seen they can send the law. That’s the positive now the possible negatives Dot could use it to see why does their inspections and how well, how long the break is as well as your every move. I know the new ones in Tx. are secure with cameras and some with DPS troopers on patrol close and an office in the rest area. I’ve been pushing to move the ones on hills to make the parking level and safe from the truck in front rolling into the back one. The states could privatize areas and pay for the use. I always said put in fast food and showers. Do that and the truck stops will have more room and will be forced to compeat or at-least drop their prices. I use to stop at the one in NM before Albuquerque because there was a Mexican food stand. It’s gotta change.
Maybe so on the east coast parking Michael…but this is in Minnesota.
i have never had a problem finding a spot off the highway some , like KM said which was alot nicer and peaceful. i,ve even gave a few dollars for the right to spend sometime parked where it was alot safer and private. One time i parked in a rest area and got awake to a guy banging into my truck breaking off my mirror, never again!!!!
I’ve often wondered why we didn’t already have something like this. I think it is a great idea. It won’t open up more spots, but there have been quite a few times I’ve rolled by a rest area, tired and ready to stop, but didn’t pull in because it was late at night and I assumed that it was full. Then to my surprise, see more than 1 open space, after it’s already too late.
In addition to the Michael before me: that was my first thought, as well. I don’t think I’d pull into one unless it was more than 1 or 2 spots open. As a somewhat new driver, some of those spaces can be challenging and too risky to wiggle in to!
There’s a couple of rest areas in IL just west of Chicago that have these signs. Made a difference. And that’s why I like to run the toll road in Ohio, because although it’s a little more expensive, there’s free showers, lots of parking places and food. (And no cameras.) It’s the same old story. The laws and regulations are there, we are required to adhere to them, but we’re not given what we need to do so. Like some of the states ticketing drivers for parking on on/off ramps, when there’s no place else for us to park within the time allotted to run. Damned if we do, damned if we don’t. Maybe the federal gov’t should stick its nose in the state’s business and make them reciprocate with their laws governing us.
How nice for the DOT to have their camera on my rig, maybe I won’t have to mark in log since they’ll know exactly how long I’ve been sitting. I agree with you Michael 1 tight spot that’s impossible to get my rig in
I observed Tennessee installing cameras also.
MN in the infinate wisdom has placed stakes with reflectors so you can NOT park anywhere except parking area. So if you pull in at 2am and its full you can’t pull to side (where there is PLENTY of room) to park a truck AND have a oversize truck get past with ease.
Now snow plow have heck of time clearing snow (as those dang stakes are in way)
hmm.. well I agree with some of the other drivers who say that parking in rest areas isnt the safest place to be.. and most of the ones on the east coast are barely made big enough for trucks to park SPACE to SPACE.. I think that the problem could be solved by simply adding paved parking areas inside the loops of clover leaf exits.. there’s a lot of unused realestate there, and if you put them in like every fith one, there would be plenty of room to go around.. it would be a safe alternitve to rest areas that are tucked away from site where drifters tend to linger…
What EdRoberts said. EXACTLY!
^ ditto
I am for it. In some rest areas they need to make more parking area instead of the dog shit grassy areas, parks for the kids to play and lets go see the trees etc…Some of these places have enormous areas that need to be converted to parking for everyone. I usally find that if I go on the car side there is plenty of parking . No ticket yet. But, “I have seen many over the years state police eyeing my truck. Pull way up to the farthest point usally no worries. A few years back I had a dumbxxx woman warner driver wake me up and ask me to move forward so she could pull into a spot. I 40 west bound just East of Amarillo,TX. One of the biggest rest areas in the United States. She was going the wrong way to make the turn.
I’m not seeing any problems in rest areas of the kind mentioned in all the other comments, I see more accident in the truck stop parking lot, than rest areas, some are not made for cmv 18 wheels they cater to the cars and as another said he goes away from the other cars and parks there, is what I have had to do sometimes when I have no more time Left, I am now in Tennessee at I 81 mile marker 39 Greene county and they have 8 open spaces for 18 wheels, that still open at almost 2 in the morning, y’all drive friendly out there, keep on trucking