How to Choose the Best Truck Parking Spot

Choosing the best Truck Parking Spot is tricky and requires a bit more patience. Whether you are an experienced trucker or a newbie, you are always in need of good tips to make your time on the road as enjoyable and hassle-free as possible. If your company is using trucking software to plan your trips, you’ll probably be spending less time on the road than the coworkers whose bosses are trying to save money on the newest technologies.

While the company owners are looking for ways to maximize their profits, it’s up to you to take care of yourself while you are behind the wheel. What can be complicated about choosing a parking spot, you’ll ask. Absolutely nothing if you find a nicely equipped rest stop. Unfortunately, not every road or even every state is ready to provide good parking solutions for a trucker. The trucking software can help your owners plan your stops, but it’s up to you to make them comfortable and safe.

1. Before choosing the rest stop to park, make sure you think of a list of things to do while you are there. Do some quick planning beforehand. Try to take care of such things as fuel, restroom visits, and eating at one stop. Otherwise, you’ll be losing time looking for another rest area.
2. Take advantage of all the services at the rest area. Most of the time even the most experienced truckers don’t know how many things they can use at a rest stop.
3. Use a rest area instead of a truck stop. Rest areas allow you to pull through to a parking spot so you don’t have to back up. More accidents involving trucks happen at the truck stops than at the rest areas.
4. When you have a choice, never park at the end of a row. End of a row is a high traffic area. At the same time, many tired drivers choose the end of the row. By avoiding it, you’ll keep your truck safe.
5. Try to park so you don’t have to back out. Obviously, you’ll have to back out many times throughout your careers, but each time puts you into a certain danger. Try to minimize this danger whenever you can. Choose a “pull through” or a “back into” option when parking.
6. When choosing a parking spot, make sure you don’t park across from the trucks that will need to back out. By not parking this way, you are taking your truck away from the “line of fire”.
7. If you don’t have a choice of a spot and need to park next to an oddly parked truck. Make sure to write down its name and the DOT number.
8. Try to find the spot with a lot of space around you. Such spaces are usually available in the back of the parking lot. Think about the safety of your vehicle rather than the extra 3 minutes it will take you to walk to the café.

If your company is advanced enough to use trucking software, ask for help when planning your stops. The more convenient the truck stops and rest areas are, the more chances you and your vehicle will be safe.