Safe parking for truckers: ATRI assesses availability

Washington – The American Transportation Research Institute recently published a pair of studies regarding the availability of safe parking locations for commercial motor vehicle drivers.

As part of the first study, titled Managing Critical Truck Parking Tech Memo #2: Minnesota Case Study, researchers analyzed the availability of parking spots during different times of day and days of the week at four Minnesota rest areas.

For the second study, titled, A Comprehensive System for Assessing Truck Parking Availability, researchers delivered real-time parking information through the use of roadside changeable message signs, a website information portal and in-cab communications systems to gauge the effect of the messages on parking capacity.

“Both studies successfully demonstrated new approaches for identifying where additional truck capacity is needed and how delivering real-time information on parking availability to commercial drivers can improve their operational efficiency,” a press releases from ATRI states.

Safe parking for CMV drivers has been a frequent focus area for ATRI, which is the research arm of the American Trucking Associations. In January, the institute released a study showing that the majority of CMV drivers parked illegally at least once a week because of a dearth of safe parking options.