All jurisdictions are struggling with the truck parking issue. Ontario seems particularly long on need very short on solution.
Back in the day, MTO scales were available for truckers to “camp out” and get their required rest. Many of the mom and pop truck stops have gone out of business for one reason or another at which truckers could spend their rest period hours. Now, MTO doesn’t allow truckers to camp out and forcibly moves them along regardless of the need.
The rest areas along the 400 series highways are nowhere near enough to cope with the need. For every parking spot created at a rest area, two parking spots have been lost from other traditional parking places.
The loss of parking places has been exacerbated by rules and regulations around which proper planning always calls for a plan B but no plan B satisfies either authorities, enforcers, but carriers demanding 100% productivity, 100% of the time.
Hours of service allows no flexibility. A driver starts a shift, goes steady, no breaks for eight hours, takes a forced 30 minute break, then goes steady for five and a half more hours then finds a place to take a ten hour break. Admittedly, this scenario is basic, but it is the essence of the HOS rules.
Add to this, now with ELD there is absolutely no room for flexibility. When the computer says you’re done, you’re done and you best be parked.
The mom and pop truck stops were already in trouble with HOS that prevented drivers from stopping for meals, the card lock fuel suppliers added to the problem with having the ability for a computer to be driver activated and billed appropriately without supplier involvement. Of course these card lock locations didn’t provide any parking.
There needs to be a whole government rethink on HOS, ELDs, Parking/Resting Areas and reworks laws, rules and regulations that work for the 330,000 truck drivers that must fit into a mould not made for humans.
Those charged with rewriting these rules, need to take a broader look and avoid the law of unintended consequences because for every action they make there is a long hard consequence and reaction to truck drivers.
