Heavy Duty Trucking, July 2018

HDT JULY 2018 30 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM ruck parking is one of those issues that continues to hover near the top of industry concerns but finds itself just below the more pressing matters of the driver shortage safety scores the electronic logging device mandate and hours of service Perhaps this is why it has been allowed to fester for so long putting pressure on long haul drivers who are under the hours of service gun to find a place to take their mandatory rest breaks in peace and relative comfort The problem is twofold Along the most frequently used interstate corridors the trucking industry needs to have enough available parking for the thousands of trucks passing through each day Some of it is provided by the states in free rest areas and the rest at truckstops some spots are free especially with purchase and some for a nightly fee But in many areas neither parking option is adequate to meet demand The other issue is efficiently finding available parking so that all of that limited space is being used With the full implementation of the ELD mandate it is even more vital that truckers be able to find available parking in a timely manner before their electronic timekeeper forces them to shut down or risk a violation A recent change by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has eased some of that pain extending the definition of personal conveyance to allow a truck driver whose hours of service have run out more leeway in finding a place to park without it counting as a violation But there still remains the issue of actually finding that legal place to park Thats the part of the problem that the Truck Parking Information Management Systems project or TPIMS is attempting to solve Part of a joint initiative started in 2016 by eight of the 10 states that make up the Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials TPIMS aims to provide a consistent up to date and free standard for reporting available parking along transportation corridors the first of its kind on this scale Located along the busiest commercial trucking byways in the states of Kansas Iowa Minnesota Wisconsin Indiana Michigan Ohio and Kentucky TPIMS Before state governments invest in additional truck parking the Truck Parking Information Management System will provide valuable data on where it is needed the most by efficiently filling available parking capacity where it already exists will help truck drivers quickly find available parking Funded primarily through a U S Department of Transportation grant the 286 million multi state project uses a system of sensors to monitor truck parking availability at public and private rest areas and disseminates that information to truck drivers through multiple methods that include signs mobile apps and traveler information websites The plan is to have the system up and running by next year As of June 2018 the system is on schedule for a Jan 4 2019 launch The project is extensive covering a large portion of the Midwest but costs were consciously kept down by limiting construction to installing the digital signs that will display By Steven Martinez Web Editor smartinez@ truckinginfo com Truck parking project wants to get the word out about open spaces The Truck Parking Information Management Systems project is the first real attempt at a comprehensive system to help truck drivers find available nearby parking SAFETY COMPLIANCE T PHOTO ISTOCKPHOTO COM SKITZAFRENIC