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New legislation provides bathroom access for truck drivers

Shippers, retailers, marine terminals would be required to open their facilities to truckers

Proposed bill requires warehouses to allow drivers access to restrooms. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

New legislation would for the first time require commercial warehouses, retailers and ports to allow truck drivers to use their restroom facilities when picking up or dropping off freight.

The Trucker Bathroom Access Act, introduced Thursday by U.S. Reps. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.), adds language to federal law to ensure such access while drivers are working.

“American truckers are this nation’s backbone, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for the tremendous contributions they made during the pandemic,” said Nehls in a statement, noting that the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) and the Women In Trucking Association (WIT) lobbied for the bill.

“We’ve heard from countless drivers who have been forced to ‘hold it’ because they were not allowed to access the bathroom when they were picking up or delivering freight,” said OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer in thanking Nehls for sponsoring the legislation. “The men and women of America’s trucking industry keep our supply chain moving, and it’s only reasonable that their most basic needs be accommodated while they are on the job.”


Ellen Voie, president and CEO of WIT, also thanked Nehls for his effort.

“As more women enter the trucking industry, the need for restroom access increases while access to facilities has decreased,” Voie said.

Houlahan commented that the bipartisan legislation “will give all truckers, and female drivers in particular, the confidence of having access to a restroom when they deliver goods to businesses and American families. Ultimately, keeping more drivers on the road means fewer supply chain delays and lower costs.”

According to the bill’s language, facilities covered under the legislation include “a place of business open to the general public for the sale of goods or services,” and “a shipper, receiver, manufacturer, warehouse, distribution center or any other business entity that is receiving or sending goods by commercial motor vehicle.”


Places not covered include rail facilities, as well as “any structure such as a filling station, service station or restaurant of 800 square feet or less that has a restroom located within such structure that is only intended for use by employees.”

Restroom access requirements at seaports for drayage truckers are outlined in a separate section of the bill. It states that marine terminal operators — and port authorities, if they directly operate the terminal — shall provide:

  • Access to existing restrooms while covered drayage truck operators are on port property and when such access does not pose an obvious safety risk to such truck operators and other employees of the terminal operator in the area.
  • Additional restrooms, if necessary, at locations where there is the most need.
  • A place for covered drayage truck operators to park vehicles while accessing such restrooms.

Nehls’ legislation is based on similar proposals introduced in Washington state and Pennsylvania earlier this year. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in March signed into law a scaled-down version that applies only to drayage truckers and marine terminals that became effective in June. Pennsylvania’s proposal, introduced in March, has not advanced.

Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.

64 Comments

  1. Andrew

    Finally!!! I have been to so many shippers and receivers that have that ” no restroom ” sign.
    Then you ask then, “where do you go”?
    Oh it’s just not for the filthy trucker.
    Well wait till I drop one in your parking lot because your people took 8 hours to load me.

  2. Lavon Pennington

    It’s nice, shippers and receivers should already have these type of accommodations it said that it needs to be a bill pass for the hardest working class of Americans who sacrificed being away from their homes and family to keep America rolling.

  3. James meacham

    So true I’m a truck driver myself and bathrooms are an important necessity the companies could put in porta-potties is a suggestion that help

  4. CHERYL BAUS

    Its about time. For over 20 years I’ve referred to this problem as “bathroom-gate”. And Carlos there is nothing sexist about being able to use the facilities. What is sexist is expecting a female driver to use a mans bathroom because that’s all that’s offered. If you want to be treated with respect, then act like a professional. It’s a damn shame that you actually have to legislate use of the bathroom. When asked what advice I have for women getting started in trucking, my reply is develop a strong bladder. Y’all stay safe out there!

  5. Andrew Eppink

    It goes both ways, unfortunately. Some loading Co’s don’t give a dam for truckers, while too many truckers are slobs who bring it on themselves.

Comments are closed.

John Gallagher

Based in Washington, D.C., John specializes in regulation and legislation affecting all sectors of freight transportation. He has covered rail, trucking and maritime issues since 1993 for a variety of publications based in the U.S. and the U.K. John began business reporting in 1993 at Broadcasting & Cable Magazine. He graduated from Florida State University majoring in English and business.