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Each year there are over 41,000 highway fatalities in the United States and over 5,000 of these fatalities occur in crashes involving commercial motor carriers. The FMCSA has estimated that driver fatigue is a primary factor in 4.5 percent of large truck-involved crashes and a secondary factor in an additional 10.5 percent of large truck-involved crashes. Currently, the US DOT has a safety goal of reducing highway-related fatalities and injuries by 20 percent over 10-year period ending in 2008. The FMCSA has an additional goal of reducing the number of large truck involved fatalities by 50 percent over a 10-year period ending in 2009. If we are to meet these ambitious goals, aggressive steps must be taken to eliminate significant crash causation factors. Clearly, inadequate rest by truck drivers is one such factor and the availability of safe places to obtain needed rest must be addressed as part of a comprehensive safety agenda.
Current Federal hours-of-service rules are very specific about the number of hours that truck drivers may operate a vehicle before they must rest. Most truck drivers depend on parking facilities, at both commercial truck stops and travel plazas and public rest areas, to obtain needed rest. However, it is not clear that an adequate number of parking spaces exist in all States or along certain high truck volume corridors.
Section 4027 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) requires:
...a study to determine the location and quantity of parking facilities at commercial truck stops and travel plazas and public rest areas that could be used by motor carriers to comply with Federal hours-of-service rules. The study shall include an inventory of current facilities serving the NHS, analyze where shortages exist or are projected to exist, and propose a plan to reduce the shortages.
This report, which has been prepared in cooperation with research entities representing motor carriers, the travel plaza industry, and commercial motor vehicle drivers, presents the findings of the Section 4027 study. The results of the analyses, described in Sections 2.0 through 5.0 of this report, have been abstracted in the Executive Summary.
Recognizing the wide range of concerned stakeholders on the issue of parking facilities that could be used by motor carriers to comply with Federal hours-of-service rules, the significant role of commercial truck stops and travel plazas in supplying the vast majority of parking spaces (approximately 90 percent nationwide), and the 23 U.S.C. delegation of decision making on public rest areas to the State level, FHWA worked through its division offices in each State to engage public and private-sector stakeholders (Partners for Adequate Parking Facilities) as they deemed appropriate to address Section 4027 study requirements. Each State, excepting Hawaii and the District of Columbia (exempted), developed and/or reviewed parking demand and supply estimates and, where warranted, developed action items for addressing identified parking shortages. The results indicate truck-parking shortages are non-existent or corridor specific in some States, but more severe and pervasive in other States and regions.
Plans for addressing shortages should match the geographic scale of the shortage, i.e., corridor-specific, Statewide, or regional. The commercial truck stop and travel plaza industry, State highway agencies, and turnpike authorities, should and will continue to be principal suppliers of parking facilities. Within current legislative authority, the appropriate role for the US DOT (FHWA and FMCSA) is to facilitate continuing dialogue among and actions by parking suppliers, commercial vehicle drivers and the motor carrier industry, and other concerned stakeholders, the goal of which is to foster appropriate cross-jurisdictional strategies and actions to reduce shortages. Looking toward reauthorization, it is also appropriate to consider recommending changes in authority whereby the USDOT could expand its role in ways recommended by stakeholders.
In May 2001, the National Energy Policy, a Report of the National Energy Policy Development Group, recommended:
"The NEPD [National Energy Policy Development] group recommends that the President direct the EPA and DOT to develop ways to reduce demand for petroleum transportation fuels by working with the trucking industry to establish a program to reduce emissions and fuel consumption from long-haul trucks at truck stops by implementing alternatives to idling, such as electrification and auxiliary power units at truck stops along interstate highways, EPA and DOT will develop partnership agreements with trucking fleets, truck stops, and manufactures of idle-reducing technologies (e.g., portable auxiliary packs, electrification) to install and use low-emission-idling technologies."
The National Energy Policy puts a new and national emphasis on addressing energy-efficient solutions to truck parking, though specific recommendations in that area were beyond the scope of this effort.
Recommendations
Plans for addressing parking shortages should match the geographic scale of the shortage, i.e., area-specific, Statewide, or regional. The commercial truck stop and travel plaza industry, State highway agencies, and turnpike authorities, should and will continue to be principal suppliers of parking facilities. Public rest areas along the NHS were never intended and will never be sufficient to accommodate truck-parking demand. The major responsibility for providing parking for commercial vehicles should remain with private industry. States should continue to provide public rest areas to address short-term rest needs. The recommendations which follow are categorized into four groups: Recommendations for States, Recommendations for the Federal Government, Technology Recommendations and Recommendations for Federal Surface Transportation Reauthorization.
Recommendations for States
During the course of this study, individual States drafted plans for addressing truck parking shortages. These individual State action plans are the core strategy for reducing parking shortages. As detailed in Chapter 5 of this report, States' proposed actions fall into six broad categories:
The FHWA, in cooperation with FMCSA, will work with their State partners to maintain, and refine where necessary, the States' plans, at a level appropriate to the current adequacy of available parking in the State, i.e.:
Recommendations for the Federal Government
Within current legislative authority, the appropriate role for the US DOT (FHWA and FMCSA) is to facilitate a continuing dialogue among and actions by parking suppliers, commercial vehicle drivers and the motor carrier industry, and other concerned stakeholders (States, local governments, and others), the goal of which is to foster appropriate cross-jurisdictional strategies and actions to reduce shortages.
The FHWA, in cooperation with FMCSA, will facilitate continuing a dialogue among parking stakeholders to address the adequacy of parking. In addition to the reports produced under this study, resource materials to stimulate the dialogue will include the synthesis on "Dealing with Truck Parking Demands" being prepared under NCHRP Project 20-5, Topic 32-01.
The FHWA, in cooperation with FMCSA, will hold regional meetings to:
The FMCSA should facilitate discussions with shipper/receiver facilities, and port and railroad terminals regarding their role in providing parking to meet the needs of truck drivers serving their facilities.
To facilitate State programs/projects that encourage drivers' use of private truck parking facilities serving the NHS, FHWA should issue guidance, and as necessary change policy/program guidelines, to permit/encourage Federal funding for projects that improve the operational and safety aspects of interchanges and cross roads and enhance access to private truck facilities.
Technology Recommendations:
FHWA and FMCSA should consider initiatives to facilitate private-sector provision and truck-driver use of truck parking spaces at commercial truck stops and travel plazas serving the National Highway System, including improved information systems that facilitate truck drivers' use of private truck stops for their long-term parking requirements.
On a national level, the FHWA and FMCSA should investigate the feasibility of using Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technology in the development and promotion of technology-based solutions to provide traveler information to truck drivers on available parking and other relevant matters (location of truck stops, weather, and congestion and delays).
Consistent with President Bush's National Energy Policy, FHWA and FMCSA should work with the EPA to promote the use of technology to provide more energy-efficient alternatives for truck parking.
Recommendations for Federal Surface Transportation Reauthorization:
In developing the Administrator's Federal Surface Transportation Reauthorization proposal, FHWA and FMCSA should consider a range of legislative and administrative policy/procedural changes including: permitting innovative financing (low-interest loans and grants); permitting commercialization/privatization of public rest areas on Interstate right of way and allowing States to use Federal-aid funds to operate and improve safety and security at public rest areas; allowing the development of an "oasis" signing standard for businesses along the NHS meeting appropriate criteria to be developed by FHWA, States and relevant stakeholders; permitting Federal-aid funds to be used for projects to build auxiliary public truck parking lots at private truck stops off the right of way; and prohibiting States from enacting or enforcing time restrictions on parking at public rest areas on Interstate/NHS right of way in the event drivers need to comply with Federal hours-of -service rules.
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