Project 7.3
Truck Parking Projects along the NWP Corridor and Evaluate Third Party Data for Truck Parking Availability

The freight and commercial vehicle community is an important stakeholder to the North/West Passage Corridor. Currently, truck drivers are required to stop and rest after 11 hours of driving. If there is no parking available for a trucker and they continue to drive, the driver may become fatigued. Driver fatigue is thought to be a contributing factor in a number of heavy truck accidents. Truck drivers may also park on freeway ramps in unsafe locations if truck parking is not available.

For better utilization of truck stops and to provide truck drivers with safe rest options, real-time notification about the availability of parking spots is one need that has frequently been cited as an issue. In 2013 the University of Minnesota as one example designed an automated truck stop management system that can compute occupancy rates at stops and notify drivers about the availability using a Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) located 30 to 40 miles before the stop.

The objectives of this project were twofold. The first objective was to summarize the work of other projects that have identified the issues of truck parking in each North/West Passage state and nationwide. The second objective was to conduct preliminary research on the potential use of third party data to provide truck parking availability.

Related Links

• Project Summary – September 2013 (PDF, 720K)