Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/619872
Voices 6 | Overdrive | January 2016 A petition has been circulating to ask the truck stops to discontinue paid parking spaces. The petition states the spaces could be put to use better in the war we wage against a distinct lack of parking by remaining non-paid and first-come first-served. It goes on to say that it's unfair for those who can't afford to pay. Three years ago, I'd have signed the petition and been righteously indignant about it. Today, it sits in my inbox while I decide if I want to send my dog into this fight. We're out here to make money, and those we deal with, including truck stops, are out here for the same reason. Does that make this practice morally right? Who knows? We're not the moral police here. The bigger problem is the lack of public parking and rest areas, which have become more necessary with the hours of service changes and the rise of the electronic box. This is where everyone can become righteously indignant, because your money is what funds this public parking. It is directly part of your business model, in the form of taxes, and you have every right to talk about how it's spent. The problem is that not enough people will focus their com- plaints in the correct direction, and the people who spend the money get to do whatever they want with it. Like build giant signs that tell ev- eryone there's no parking available, for which $25 million in tax dollars was recently approved. (I can't help but imagine Captain Obvious float- ed through a meeting in his canoe and saying, "Hey, there's not enough parking already. Why don't we invest a bunch of money in signs that say it?" and everyone was like, "Holy hell, Captain Obvious is a genius! Give him $25 million!") According to widely circulated reporting from the Charlotte Observer on issues around parking off I-77 in North Carolina near a vineyard and the Virginia line, for as little as $32,000 someone can influence the Gubner enough to have the State Patrol crack down on napping truckers. I vote we offer the Gubner an even $60,000 to take the "No Parking" signs down and focus on the revenue them State boys could generate from drunk drivers leaving the vineyard instead. Really, what's more unsightly – a big truck or an accident scene with mangled bodies? The argument of not building or providing adequate parking because "truckers are dirty" has been beat to death. We get it. There are filthy people on earth, and some of them reside in trucks. This is not a valid argument to restrict parking for all truckers. It's like saying all cats pee on walls, so we can't build any more walls. I will not sign the petition. I will instead pass it on to my represen- tative in Congress, with a letter of my own, letting them know that the parking shortage is critical and something that needs to be ad- dressed immediately. I urge you to do the same. Wendy Parker chronicles her journey on the road with her owner-operator husband, George Parker, in the George and Wendy Show blog on OverdriveOnline.com. Scan the QR to read more from her on your phone or tablet. Parking: Too many cats, not enough walls " It all comes down to supply and demand. The shorter the supply, the great- er the demand, and that often comes with a price tag. This simple fact alone should be enough to prove we need more parking, especially in light of the hours of service. " — Loose Cannon " Image is everything, and attitude is key. Put a little shine on both with some emphasis on teamwork, and we just might be able to make some progress with this problem as more of us are forced onto e-logs. " — Maddog Trucker, via OverdriveOnline.com Visit OverdriveOnline.com/parking to access all of our coverage of the parking issue, including last month's cover story and an interactive map rank- ing the 48 continental states according to where the parking problem is most pronounced.