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Truck Parking

Trucks parked at truck stop at night. Trucks parked at truck stop Source: FHWA

Truck parking shortages are a national safety concern. The trucking industry is vital to the U.S. economy, with trucks moving more than 73 percent of the Nation's goods by value, and more than 67 percent by weight*. It is essential that commercial truck drivers have access to safe, secure and accessible truck parking. With the projected growth in e-commerce and truck traffic, the demand for truck parking will continue to outpace the supply of public and private parking facilities and will only exacerbate the truck parking problems experienced in many regions.

Truck parking is necessary for drivers to be able to take hours of service breaks. An inadequate supply of truck parking spaces can result in negative consequences. Tired truck drivers may continue to drive because they have difficulty finding a place to park for rest. Truck drivers may choose to park at unsafe locations, such as on the shoulder of the road, exit ramps, or vacant lots, if they are unable to locate official, available parking. This creates a safety hazard for truckers and other motorists due to the increased potential for collisions with parked trucks. It also leads to increased maintenance costs due to the damage trucks can cause to roadway shoulders that were not designed for heavy-vehicle parking.

*sourced from 2022 BTS Freight Facts and Figures

Eligibility of Federal Funding for Truck Parking

Clearinghouse for Truck Parking publications

Numerous public, private, academic, and non-profit studies have been completed on truck parking. These studies have some common findings including an expected growth in truck activity, shortages of parking for trucks, lack of information on truck parking opportunities, and challenges due to limited delivery windows. The Truck Parking External Resources is a clearinghouse of published Truck Parking-related resources, including programs that support truck parking, reports, and truck parking studies.

  • New Clearinghouse for Truck Parking publications [Coming Soon]

Truck Parking Development Handbook 2022

The Truck Parking Development Handbook presents resources for development of truck parking, including factors that influence parking need, quantitative approaches for estimating truck parking demand, design of truck parking facilities, truck parking safety and security, and facility siting to protect community quality of life. The Handbook serves as a resource for planners, engineers, local officials, State departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, economic development organizations, and other entities involved in freight and land use planning.

  • Truck Parking Development Handbook [PDF 2.7MB]
  • New National Highway Institute Truck Parking Training Course (Free): FHWA-NHI-139014
  • Workshop on the Draft Truck Parking Development Handbook December 15 & 16, 2021 Presentation [PDF 8.4 MB]

National Coalition on Truck Parking

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and several stakeholder organizations established the National Coalition on Truck Parking (Coalition) in August 2015 as a response to a documented need for truck parking solutions. Stakeholders engaged in the Coalition represent the trucking industry, commercial vehicle safety officials, State departments of transportation (DOTs), and commercial truck stop owners and operators. The Coalition is working toward initiatives to advance safe truck parking, including:

  • Collaborate nationally and among regions to identify opportunities and solutions for truck parking needs
  • Share information on data and new analyses developed by stakeholders to understand needs and trends in truck parking
  • Encourage partnerships among stakeholders to implement solutions
  • Identify opportunities to use existing and new programs to support truck parking implementation

National Coalition on Truck Parking Working Groups created a Report summarizing recommendations (HTML, PDF 1.2MB)

Additional information on the Coalition, Coalition working groups, meeting resources, and product deliverables can be found under the National Coalition on Truck Parking webpage.

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21)

Various tractor trailers lined up at a truck parking area. Rest Area Truck Parking

Jason's Law Truck Parking Survey and Assessment

Section 1401 of MAP-21 (PL 112-141), also known as "Jason's Law," was established to provide a "national priority on addressing the shortage of long-term parking for commercial motor vehicles on the National Highway System to improve the safety of motorized and non-motorized users and for commercial motor vehicle operators."

Jason's Law helps advance a more comprehensive set of programs, efforts, and research to improve truck parking and provide States and MPOs with resources to identify parking needs and to encourage improvements and investments.

Jason's Law requires the USDOT to conduct a survey and comparative assessment in consultation with relevant State motor carrier representatives to:

  1. Evaluate the capability of the State to provide adequate parking and rest facilities for commercial motor vehicles engaged in interstate transportation
  2. Assess the volume of commercial motor vehicle traffic in the State
  3. Develop a system of metrics to measure the adequacy of commercial motor vehicle parking facilities in the State

Jason's Law 2019 Truck Parking Survey and Assessment

MAP-21 section 1401(c)(3) called for periodic updates to the survey. FHWA has conducted an updated survey. The results from the 2nd survey can be found in the following links. No further material is expected to be published.

  • Results of 2018-2019 Jason’s Law Survey – 12/01/2020. [HTML, PDF 7 MB]
  • Facilities and Spaces Shape-file [Zip File, 125KB] – Download this file for use in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) programs to illustrate public truck parking locations. The shape-file provides the same information used in the maps included in the Jason's Law Truck Parking Survey report. The metadata includes limited information on location and number of spaces at each facility. The public facility data was collected data in 2019.

Jason's Law 2015 Truck Parking Survey and Assessment

  • Jason's Law Truck Parking Survey
  • Facilities and Spaces Shape-file [Zip File, 494KB] – Download this file for use in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) programs to illustrate public and private truck parking locations. The shape-file provides the same information used in the maps included in the Jason's Law Truck Parking Survey report. The metadata includes limited information on location and number of spaces at each facility. The public facility data was collected data in 2013. The private facility data source is Trucker's Friend, 2013.

Reports to Congress

  • Commercial Motor Vehicle Parking Shortage [HTML, PDF 700KB]
  • SAFETEA-LU Section 1305: Truck Parking Facilities Report to Congress [HTML, PDF 7KB]

Related Information

The following information is provided for historical research purposes.

Staff Contact

Walt Satterfield
202-941-8954
Walter.Satterfield@dot.gov
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