Truck parking and hours-of-service trip planning

The parking shortage, in official numbers

Jason's Law (Section 1401 of the MAP-21 Act) requires the U.S. DOT to survey truck parking in every state and update the survey from time to time. The first report came out in 2015. FHWA presented the 2019 update to the National Coalition on Truck Parking in December 2020. It is the latest set of national numbers FHWA has published. Key findings:

• About 313,000 truck parking spaces nationwide: about 40,000 at public rest areas and about 273,000 at private truck stops.
• From 2014 to 2019, public spaces grew about 6% and private spaces about 11%.
• 98% of drivers surveyed reported problems finding safe parking, in every state and region. The states drivers named most often were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Georgia, plus the I-95 and I-5 corridors and the Chicago region.
• Shortages were reported most often Monday through Thursday and from October through February.
• Truck stops reported running over 100% of capacity overnight and on weekdays. 79% of truck stop operators said they did not plan to add parking.
• The 32 urban areas that handle 38% of truck freight tonnage have only 8.5% of the truck parking spaces.
• State enforcement agencies said unofficial parking happens mostly on ramps and highway shoulders, most often between 7 PM and 9 AM.

The takeaway: near big cities and ports, and late in the evening, assume the lot will be full unless you have a reason to think otherwise.

The HOS limits that decide where you park

These are the federal limits for property-carrying drivers in 49 CFR 395.3. For the full rules and logging details, see the hours of service guide.

Some short-haul drivers are exempt from the 30-minute break under 395.1(e). Check the rule if you run local.

Split sleeper and adverse driving conditions

Split sleeper berth (395.1(g)). If your truck has a sleeper berth, you can split the 10 hours off into two periods:

• One period of at least 7 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth.
• The other of at least 2 consecutive hours, in the sleeper or off duty.
• The two must add up to at least 10 hours, in either order.
• Driving before and after each rest period, added together, can't go over 11 hours or break the 14-hour limit.
• Qualifying rest periods don't count against your 14-hour window. You recalculate from the end of the first rest period.

Splitting helps when a lot is full at night: a 2 or 3 hour stop at a shipper or ramp-side lot now, and the long rest later where you know there's room. It only works if you can actually park for both pieces.

Adverse driving conditions (395.1(b)). If you run into snow, ice, sleet, fog, other bad weather, or unusual road or traffic conditions that you didn't know about and couldn't reasonably have known about before you started your duty day or your last qualifying break, and your carrier couldn't have known before dispatching you, you may drive up to 2 more hours beyond the 11-hour and 14-hour limits. The extra time is to finish the run or to reach a place that is safe for you, the truck and the cargo. A forecast you could have checked before leaving doesn't qualify. The rule doesn't change the 60/70-hour limit.

How to plan a day around parking

Most parking trouble starts in the morning, when the driver leaves without a plan for the night. Work it like this:

• Back-plan from the receiver. Start with the appointment time and work backward: unloading, the last leg, the night's rest, the day before. Know where you must be parked the night before delivery.
• Decide tonight's stop before you start. Pick a primary spot that you can reach with time left on both your 11 and 14 hour clocks. Then pick a backup about an hour earlier on the route.
• Plan to park early, not at the last minute. The 2019 survey found truck stops over capacity overnight. Arriving in the afternoon or early evening gives you a better shot than arriving at 10 PM.
• Build in a buffer. Leave room for traffic, weather, fuel, a slow dock and a full lot. An hour of spare time on the 14-hour clock is a good habit.
• Use real numbers. Plan with the speed you actually average, including traffic and stops, not the posted limit.
• Watch your 60/70. Before you accept a multi-day load, check how many hours you have left this week and where a 34-hour restart would happen.

Example. You come on duty at 6:00 AM after 10 hours off. Your 14-hour window closes at 8:00 PM. You have a 30-minute fuel stop around hour 7. If you plan to be parked by 7:00 PM, you still have an hour of buffer for a full lot or a slow road. If the receiver keeps you waiting, that time still eats your 14 hours, so record it and see the detention guide.

Test the day in the HOS calculator before you commit to a pickup or delivery time.

Where to find official parking information

• Truck Parking Information Management Systems (TPIMS). Several states use sensors or cameras to count open spaces and send the number to drivers on roadside signs, websites and apps. The biggest is the MAASTO regional system in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin, on parts of I-35, I-64, I-65, I-70, I-71, I-75, I-80, I-94 and I-135. Look for signs that say "Available Truck Parking" with a live count.
• State traveler information (511) sites. TPIMS states also share their parking counts through traveler information websites and apps. Kentucky, for example, links a live parking feed with space counts and images of its 14 monitored lots.
• State rest areas. Check the state DOT's website for rest area and truck lot locations and any closures before you count on one for the night. FHWA's survey notes that rest area closures make parking harder for drivers.
• Private truck stops. The 2019 survey found most truck stops don't take reservations and most don't charge to park. Some offer paid reserved spaces, which can be worth it in a tight area.
• Shippers and receivers. Ask when you book whether you can park on site before or after the appointment. Get the answer in writing.

Personal conveyance basics

Personal conveyance (PC) means driving your truck for personal reasons while off duty. FMCSA's guidance (published in the Federal Register in June 2018) says:

• You can log PC as off duty only when you're relieved from work and all responsibility for work.
• The truck can be loaded. What matters is the reason for the move, not whether there's freight in the trailer.
• After loading or unloading, you may use PC to drive to a nearby, reasonable, safe place to get your required rest, even if you're out of hours. It must be the first such place reasonably available, and you still need enough time to get your full 10 hours off.
• If the nearest place is full and you have to go on to the next one, FMCSA recommends you add a note to your log saying so.
• If a law enforcement officer tells you to move during your 10-hour break, you can log that move as PC, to the nearest reasonable and safe spot.

What is not PC: driving past open parking to get closer to your next pickup or delivery, bobtailing or running empty to get another load, driving to your carrier's terminal after a delivery, taking the truck to get maintenance, or driving after being placed out of service for an hours violation (unless the officer tells you to).

Your carrier can set stricter rules, such as banning PC, capping the distance or banning PC while loaded. PC also doesn't change your duty to drive safely. If you're tired, park.

Never park on ramps or shoulders

FHWA calls truck parking shortages a national safety concern. Its truck parking page says trucks parked on shoulders and exit ramps raise the risk of crashes with other vehicles, and that shoulders weren't built to carry parked heavy trucks.

States enforce this. One example: Arkansas Code 27-51-1302 bars stopping on the shoulder, median, ramps and other right-of-way of Interstates and other fully controlled-access highways, except in designated parking areas or briefly for an emergency, a breakdown, or to fix or avoid an unsafe condition. The Arkansas DOT counts trucks parked in these places every year in its overnight truck parking survey.

If you're about to run out of hours with no legal spot ahead:

• Stop sooner, at the backup you picked in the morning.
• If unexpected weather or traffic caused it, the adverse driving conditions rule may give you up to 2 more hours to reach a safe place.
• If you're leaving a shipper or receiver, personal conveyance may cover the drive to the nearest safe place to rest.
• Log what happened and why, with times and places.

Questions to settle before you accept a load

• What are the pickup and delivery appointment times, and are they firm or a window?
• Can I park on site before or after the appointment?
• How many hours will I have left on my 11, 14 and 60/70 clocks when I get there?
• Where will I park the night before delivery, and what's my backup?
• Is the route through an area the survey flagged as tight, like the I-95 corridor or the Chicago region?
• Is my ELD set up correctly for personal conveyance and annotations? See the ELD checklist.

A load that only works if everything goes perfectly isn't a good load. Pass, or renegotiate the appointment.

Questions carriers ask