The Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association (PMTA) and the American Trucking Associations (ATA) are calling on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to prioritize truck parking with infrastructure spending.

In a letter to Governor Shapiro PMTA, ATA, the National Tank Truck Carriers and Truckload Carriers Association spelled out the numerous new resources provided by the federal government, including new funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to improve and expand truck parking facilities.

“The lack of available truck parking has dire safety implications for both truck drivers and the motoring public,” the letter states. “When drivers are unable to find safe, authorized parking, they are stuck in an untenable situation, forced to either park in unsafe or illegal locations, or violate federal hours-of-service regulations by continuing to search for safer, legal alternatives. As a last resort, drivers reluctantly park in unsafe locations—such as highway shoulders, interstate entrance and exit ramps, and abandoned properties—creating heightened safety risks for themselves and other motorists.”

A U.S. Department of Transportation report found that 98 percent of truck drivers regularly experience problems finding safe parking. A staggering 70 percent of drivers have been forced to violate federal hours-of-service rules because of this common scenario.

“Construction of new truck parking capacity at rest areas or adjacent to private facilities is eligible for funding, as are improvements that allow for increased parking capacity at nontraditional locations, such as weigh stations and commuter lots, when appropriate,” the letter said.

The letter details some of the federal-aid highway programs and USDOT programs offering grant funding for truck parking projects.

“Truck drivers are the backbone of our society and our economy,” the letter said. “Without them, the daily conveniences we take for granted—from fresh water to fuel to the literal roofs over our heads—would not exist. We urge you to examine the availability of truck parking within your State and take such actions as are necessary to ensure that truck drivers have a safe place to sleep when they are out on the road delivering more than 70% of America’s freight. We hope you will use the aforementioned resources, as well as other non-Federal resources, to prioritize and address this serious safety problem.”

View the full letter here.