What are the Truck Parking Games?
It’s 2 a.m. You have worked 12 of your 14 hour on duty limit and have just started west-bound on the I-68 corridor coming out of Baltimore MD. You have had a very long day, so you pull into the first truck stop you come to and… let the TRUCK PARKING GAMES begin. As you pull into the truck stop, you glance around. With tired eagle eyes, you could see a single parking spot a hundred yards away in the dark. After the second time around, you spot what might allow you to park a large car but can you fit your semi-truck into it. Noooooo! You say to yourself, I can win this fight. But alas, after the third time around the parking lot, there are none. No worries, you still have 2 more hours of available time. Back out on the highway, through the gears, and up to highway speed, you know the next truck stop is 30 miles down the road and you can rest there.
45 minutes later, you pull into the next truck stop. As you enter the parking lot, a quick look around the parking lot doesn’t look good. There are about 50 parking spaces in this truck stop and about 65 trucks parked in here. Looking through the windshield, you see a man walking across the parking lot. Could this guy be leaving? It is now 3 a.m. You put your truck in low gear and slowly pull around like a large cat on the African plains stalking his prey, to where this other guy was walking. Without trying to look desperate, you pull in front his truck, and your heart sinks as he steps back into the sleeper and closes the curtain, another set-back in the Truck Parking Games.
Will These Truck Parking Games Ever End?
Now, you have to make a decision. Do I get some coffee? No, you are sure you will get a parking spot at the next truck stop. Truck parking has been an issue in the trucking industry for years and it is not likely to get better any time soon. But skill, heart, and patience will prevail! Down the road we go, looking for the elusive parking space. It is out there and you know it. You can be the victor of the Truck Parking Games. Another 35 minutes down the road, and one last truck stop. You pull into this truck stop, creep around the lot, and there it is. Half of a parking spot next to the truck scales. You can just barely squeeze your fat truck into this skinny space. The hood of your truck is sticking out into the lane just a little, but almost 2 hours after you began looking for a parking space, you just don’t care. Will these Truck Parking Games ever end? Yes! Sooner or later, you will find the perfect parking spot or you will make one for yourself.
This is a true story of what I had to do to find a place to park before I ran out of time. It is not always easy to drive a big truck and some sections of the country are easier than others. But no matter where you drive in this great country, there is a shortage of parking spaces so you have to be smart. You may have to stop before you want to just so you don’t run out of time. As a rule of thumb, it is easier to find a parking space before the sun goes down. Be safe out there. Keep the shiny side up and the dirty side down. Please share this post on Facebook or Twitter below. Join me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prodriverproject
