Witnesses Urge State Investment in Truck Parking, Citing Safety and Supply‑Chain Effects

Mr. Balzer, a witness representing the trucking industry, told the Ohio Senate Transportation Committee that a shortage of safe, legal truck parking creates roadway and workforce safety hazards and lowers supply‑chain efficiency.

"Safety is the number 1 priority that we have," Mr. Balzer said, describing drivers who must park in unsafe locations and sometimes face vandalism or assaults. He told senators the American Transportation Research Institute found that "90 percent of truck drivers have difficulty finding safe and legal parking spots," a factor he said pushes drivers to make inefficient choices about when and where to stop.

Why it matters: Committee members heard that state investment could pay for engineering and siting studies to place parking where drivers can rest safely and where facilities — fuel, food, access ramps — support operations. Witnesses and some senators…