Bloomberg — President Joe Biden’s sweeping infrastructure law was supposed to ease problems for the trucking industry and relieve supply chain woes, but the law overlooked a vital necessity for truckers: Parking.
Overcrowded truck stops force drivers to often spend hours scavenging for parking wherever they can find it, even in illegal and unsafe spots. The problem has simmered for decades, as transportation has been overwhelmed by the online shopping boom, lower inventories and federal mandates on driver rest. But truckers say the coronavirus pandemic has brought the issue to a breaking point.
The word “parking” doesn’t appear anywhere in the Biden administration’s 2,333-word “Trucking Action Plan” released last month as part of the rollout of the new infrastructure law during the height of the pre-holiday emphasis on supply-chain snags.
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While the Biden administration is focused on congestion at coastal ports and a broader truck driver shortage, the lack of safe and legal parking spaces for rigs also causes ripples throughout the supply chain.
Government regulations typically force drivers off roads to take 10-hour breaks after driving 11 hours. Precious time spent searching for parking means lengthier delivery times to stores.
“The supply chain clog will not unclog until drivers are able to utilize their whole 11-hour drive time driving, not driving around in circles, fighting for the next parking spot or stopping early so they can maybe count on a spot,” Merry Leach, a driver from Niota, Illinois, told transportation officialslast month. “Adding truckers to fill the ‘driver shortage’ is only going to make the situation worse, like adding players to a game of musical chairs without adding chairs.”
Leach, now 72, wasn’t ready to retire, but said she’d had enough last year. She quit and sold her truck out of frustration.
Finding a legal spot often means shortening the day. And that means a smaller paycheck and delays in…
Source : time
