The Challenge

Although access to safe and convenient parking areas for trucks is essential for a robust freight transportation network, truck drivers consistently have difficulty finding areas to safely rest.

In 2013, the national Jason’s Law Truck Parking Survey revealed that 83 percent of drivers routinely took longer than 30 minutes to find parking. Drivers who have not located parking before reaching their hours of service limits are often forced to park illegally or unsafely, often on the shoulders of highways, on off ramps or at abandoned facilities. This loss of productivity adds six percent or more to labor costs associated with moving goods through the national freight network.

The Innovative Solution: A Regional TPIMS

In response to these concerns, eight states – Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin – have joined together in developing a multi-state Truck Parking Information and Management System. This TPIMS project is funded through a $25 million TIGER grant and state funds.

The Regional TPIMS will help truckers better capitalize on the region’s network of safe, convenient parking areas by collecting and broadcasting real-time parking availability to drivers through dynamic message signs, smart phone applications, traveler information websites and other communication methods. This will help drivers proactively plan their routes and make safer, smarter parking decisions.

With implementation of the Regional TPIMS project, commercial truck drivers will be able to find available parking more easily and efficiently route themselves to those locations, increasing their productivity and lowering their costs.

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