Click on the link to see the original article.
The U.S. Department of Transportation convened state, industry, and federal leaders at a National Coalition of Truck Parking meeting to share resources made available by President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address truck parking storage.
The shortage costs truck drivers both time and money and puts all road users at risk of collisions and injuries, according to a Sept. 30 news release. The meeting was an extension of the commitments of the Biden-Harris administration's Trucking Action Plan, which is focused on creating a stable and safe trucking workforce that offers well-paying jobs to millions of truck drivers.
"I’ve heard from countless truckers across the country about how the shortage of truck parking costs them time and money — not to mention making our roads less safe and weakening our supply chains,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release.
“We’re using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help address truck parking shortages, and we’re working with state and industry leaders to develop more parking that will improve safety and quality of life for our nation’s truck drivers.”
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Robin Hutcheson reported one of the leading causes of truck crashes is driver fatigue, the release reported.
"We have heard loud and clear from drivers – they need more places to rest and they need to be safe and secure while doing so,” Hutcheson said in the release. “We are proactively working at the local and regional level to point to the numerous resources across DOT for truck parking construction, expansion, and technology solutions, and we will continue to work collaboratively with agencies within DOT and with all of our partners in the industry.”
Federal Highway Administration Acting Administrator Stephanie Pollack reported the organization updated its guidance to make sure there is "no question about eligibility for truck parking projects in new formula and discretionary grant programs authorized under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law," according to the release.
“This new information will help states, localities, and other eligible entities identify eligible formula funding sources and apply for discretionary grants to fund truck parking projects that not only support the increased demand for truck deliveries and strengthen our supply chains but also provide safe truck parking, which is critical to protect the truck drivers we rely on, as well as the traveling public,” Pollack said in the release.
留言