Recent data from the smartphone app Trucker Path highlights the states with the tightest truck parking availability — a persistent problem for the freight industry.

Under FMCSA rules, commercial drivers must take rest breaks at set intervals, monitored via electronic logging devices. When drivers can’t find a formal parking spot before their allotted time runs out, many end up parked on roadsides or at rest areas built for passenger vehicles, raising safety and security concerns.

Trucker Path, which tracks data from more than a million app users, analyzed both public parking (highway rest stops, often without food or fuel) and private parking (truck stop chains like Love’s and Pilot).

Alabama’s Push for Safe Parking

In recent years, Alabama Trucking Association leaders have called upon Alabama officials to help find solutions and have worked with private and public entities to promote safer parking options for professional truck drivers. 

According to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (USDOT), nearly 98% of truck drivers regularly struggle to find secure parking, with truck drivers consistently ranking it among their top challenges. The situation is expected to worsen as trucks’ freight volume is projected to increase by more than 21% over the coming years.

A lack of available truck parking poses serious safety risks to both truck drivers and the public. When truckers cannot find authorized parking, they must resort to parking in unsafe or illegal locations, creating hazards on the road. 

Truck drivers are the unsung heroes who keep our society and economy running. They deliver goods we rely on daily, and their safety is paramount. Alabama Trucking and other industry groups will continue to push state and federal authorities to prioritize and address the serious truck parking shortage issue, ensuring that truck drivers have a safe place to rest when delivering more than 70% of America’s freight.