So I posed the question a couple days ago, and got what I was hoping for. The question is and will always be would you be willing to pay to park? It was pretty much a mixed bag of sorts.
With the way trucking is and the hours of service, electronic logs, data recorders, and so much more, cheating the log book has become a harder challenge then ever. Staying within a 14 hour clock is, at times, really hard to almost impossible. Not that I am saying drivers cheat their log books, I am just making the statement 'cause if you really look at the way things have changed for us in just a few years we are so limited in how we do things.
In some parts of the country parking is not a big issue. However, other parts are. You pull in to a truck stop at 7 pm, and there is no place to park. Yet other places you go, you can pull in at midnight and find a spot.
So as the question goes, are you willing to pay to park?
One general point I received was "Only if that's the last option". So who then should be responsible for us to build parking spots.............the federal government? State or local governments? Private companies? Well, that has always been up for debate. After all, the feds created the rules and therefore should build us places. Then again, they build them and then close them up or even think about this,when you use government rest areas were built with tax dollars, so, in turn, you are paying for parking there even if you don't use them.
Cities should have parking areas built in industrial areas, if they want us to move. On that one, there was the city of South Bend, Indiana that built an area just for trucks going to the industrial park on the east side of town. They then had to close it up because drivers where trashing the place; pee bottles, trash, tires and oil, vandalism to the small out houses they built, and drivers making noise like crazy. Never was there an issue of crime, just trash.
Should it be up to the shippers and receivers? They want us their to move "their" freight, so they need to provide us with a place to park. Well, on that note, a food warehouse in Northern Connecticut had done just that. Drivers were allowed to come in early for their appointment time and park, until the one day a driver was robbed and sued the chain for $500,000, and it was later found out he was never robbed. It just an insurance scam. I do believe they did jail time, but the chain said they don't want the risk for the safety of the driver and trucks.
Shopping centers, malls, stores, and many other places used to let us park, but not any more. Reasons are one, drivers that feel they are a gift to the economy and can do what they want. They feel they have to be respected. (I see it all the time today) They park where the cars are and block spaces. Two, the trash issue, pee bottles, and lazy trash throwers.
So, that leaves the private property owners, like the truck stops. I saw where a couple people posted that they rip you off and over price EVERYTHING. Yes, I agree truck/travel stop/centers are over priced now a days. So, the thing about this is, who cleans the lot? Who patches the pot holes? Who cleans the place? The property owners do, and as we in trucking know, we have too many drivers who are lazy and hurt the rest of us. I don't see truck drivers out their picking up trash. I don't see truck drivers cleaning the fuel island, refilling the washer fluid, helping empty the trash. No, instead I see and hear drivers complain about how bad the place is.
In general I think before we go and talk about the "horrible"  and "evil" greedy chains, and instead think about how maybe we can help out in some ways today. So until someone can up with a good strong plan to help the truckers and companies, we may just end up their paying to park.
On a side note, Jason's Law is not going to help parking. Just like the other government help outs, we all get screwed in the end. As I said before, it sucks what happened to Jason, but it's a feel good law; an empty cake with sweet frosting on the outside.