The federal government wants to survey truck drivers to determine what it calls the "monetary benefits of creating new truck parking spaces."
In a post to the Federal Register last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said its online survey titled, Quantifying the Benefits of Creating New Truck Parking Spaces, will ask truckers about their parking habits and experiences to gain the "exact information needed to quantify the benefits of new truck parking spaces."
The FMCSA said the results of the study will help state and local policymakers make decisions about the construction of truck parking spaces.
Before the survey can begin, the FMCSA must receive approval from the White House.
Truck parking has long been a contentious issue for truckers. It's estimated there is one legal parking spot for every 11 trucks on the road. This leads to truckers having to end their driving early in order to spend as much as 56 minutes looking a legal parking spot. This also means a loss of more than $5,000 in a driver's annual compensation.
A study earlier this year by the American Transportation Research Institute and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials said,“The repercussions of the truck parking shortage can include delayed product deliveries, impaired driver safety and wellness, decreased productivity stemming from drivers ending revenue trips early, and a host of negative externalities, including unnecessary emissions and heightened safety risks for all road users."
The FMCSA expects to distribute the survey to several thousand truckers, in hopes of received 1,000 completed surveys. The agency estimates it will take drivers 25 minutes to complete the survey.
The FMCSA's post on the Federal Register said, while there have been previous surveys, none have determined how often and how long truck drivers:
- park in unauthorized spaces
- stop driving early to obtain a parking space
- drive off their routes to find parking
- drive past hours-of-service limits to find parking.
The main objective of this project, according to the FMCSA, is to estimate the benefits of new truck parking spaces, but the project will also answer four related research questions:
1. How many trucks are parked in authorized and unauthorized areas per day, on average? In other words, how large is the nationwide shortage of truck parking spaces?
2. What are the most cost-effective methods for increasing truck parking capacity?
3. Which truck parking information management systems are used most often and are most effective?
4. What percentage of drivers routinely make reservations, pay for parking, or use various other truck parking services?
The FMCSA said the results of its survey will be combined with related research to produce estimates of the benefits of creating new truck parking spaces in different areas, which could be beneficial to the many government and private organizations that decide where to build new truck parking spaces.
