Truck drivers say now is the time to fix the parking shortage
WASHINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) — When it comes to parking spaces for big trucks, they're hard to come by.
Truck drivers say the shortage is dangerous and messing with the supply chain.
Rolling along the highways and byways of America, you see a lot of trucks and truckers moving goods from point A to point B. And it can mean long hours behind the wheel of a big rig.
"We truck drivers, we work all day long, 14 hours a day," truck driver Jeidel Lopez said.
Lopez is an over-the-road truck driver who found a spot along Route 79 to park his rig to get some rest on Tuesday.
"Pennsylvania is one of five states that was identified by drivers as one of the most difficult to find a parking space," said Rebecca Oyler, CEO of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association.
Oyler said the parking problem is a nationwide issue.
"There's one parking space for every 11 truck drivers in the U.S.," Oyler said.
That puts truck drivers in a tough spot.
"If they can't find a safe place to park," Oyler said, "they either have to park illegally or drive illegally and neither of those are a good option."
Either way, it means a ticket and fines for the operator or the company that owns the truck.
"The state, or something, they need to do something to make more rest areas," Lopez said.
There may be some help on the way. Congress is debating a $300 million program to help build truck parking lots across the nation, including Pennsylvania.
For truck drivers like Brett Egan, it can't come soon enough.
"It's a big safety concern because like you said, parking at a place you have never been before, you don't know the area," Egan said.