The trucking industry’s tensions over adequate parking can be seen as a backdrop to an incident Friday in Oklahoma that left a truck driver in the hospital after being shot by a security guard at a truck stop.
According to several local news reports, the incident took place at a TA Truck Center in Oklahoma City, near the intersection of South Council Road and Interstate 40. The shooting occurred in a section of the truck stop with reserved truck parking.
Sgt. Brad Gilmore of the Oklahoma City Police Department, quoted by local news outlets, described the incident as occurring when the security guard for the truck stop was checking the reserved spots. “Apparently the security guard was out there checking that when a disagreement happened,” Gilmore was quoted as saying. “A physical altercation took place. The security guard discharged his firearm.”
The driver, who was not identified in the news stories, was taken to a local hospital. Charges were not filed against the security guard, though Gilmore indicated evidence could be presented to the local district attorney, who could pursue further action.
The report on the shooting from local television station KWTV quoted a truck driver on the scene named Jimmy Combs. His comments seem to sum up the issue with parking that truck drivers face every day.
“That’s pretty severe force when you’re taking somebody down for parking in somebody’s parking spot,” Combs was quoted as saying. “Most of the time long-haul truck drivers are tired. They run eight, 10, 12 hours and when they want to go to sleep, they go to sleep. You wake them up, I mean if I get woke up, I’m kind of in a bad mood.”
In last year’s annual survey of the biggest issues facing trucking from ATRI, the research arm of the American Trucking Associations, drivers put parking as the No. 3 issue. A year earlier, it was second. In the 2018 survey, management listed parking as the ninth biggest concern. In the most recent survey, it didn’t place in the top 10 in the view of management.
Ronald Bradeen
It’s kind of retarded that these truck stops have this reserved parking they know everybody’s on e-logs and everybody will have to park as if they don’t make enough money off a truck drivers as it is with their High damn prices every single one of them so I think the reserve parking thing should go out the window $18 to park for a 10-hour break that’s just ludicrous these truck stops are making money hand-over-fist and they wonder why the freight prices are so high I mean it’s ridiculous there’s they’re stiff in the truck drivers is it is they need to quit with this reserved parking all of them the TA Flying J pilot all of them loves all of need to quit
Jethro
First come first served if i buy fuel you already been paid for parking and a shower . Oh it should be mandatory all truckstops in 30 to 45mile radius of any major city should have 150 to 200 parking spots with plenty of fuel island to move efficently. But how i see it ban all truckstop it seems they all trending to pay for parking . Oklahoma this why you do not let a govner shut down state rest stops when instead build better ones from the outdated ones.
Kelly Johnson
Who cares how important management thinks parking is?! They aren’t the ones out here trying to find a safe place to park. There aren’t nearly enough truck stops for every truck to have a parking spot which is why you see so many trucks parked on exit ramps. I think it’s BS that truckers aren’t allowed to park on exit ramps in some places. If we park in the wrong place we get in trouble and have to move. If we go over the drive time looking for a safe place to park cuz there hasn’t been anywhere to park the last 3 places you’ve looked we get in trouble. How is it fair that we are the soul of America because if it wasn’t for truckers there would be absolutely nothing for anyone to buy, yes that even includes online, but yet we get treated like we are a burden?!?! Maybe if all trucks would stop for a couple days and deliver nothing people would understand just exactly what we do and how important we are! And these wannabe police officers (security guards) at these truck stops need to quit being such assholes. Reserved parking spots should be for overloaded trucks that have to have a certain amount of room for their truck to park because of their load. Every other space should be first come first serve. It’s just a way for truck stops to make more money which for some reason is all anyone sees when they see a big truck.
Christopher Coon
That rent a cop needs to be locked up for life for shooting an unarmed truck driver. And TA needs to be sued for everything they have and be shut down. If they want to be like that boycott them no trucks they can’t sell fuel and don’t sell no items in the store they will close up quick or change there policy and get rid of the rent a cops for good.
Douglasnicholas4
Trucking is an industry, that the many “Vulture Industries” feed off of and have. Since, the deregulation of the Trucking Industry in the Eighties. Til now. We have half of a million more “Ambulance Chasers” commonly known as “Victory Lawyers” that feed off of the victims of auto-truck crashes. Which ironically has been given more and more Laws in favor of victims in autos even if they are clearly at fault. More of the outrageous of monies, made from unethical Judges and overly ridiculous Laws and the requirements made on Professional Truck Drivers. Have made it almost impossible, for even a legally driving Truck Driver to win even the most notorious I’ll driving auto driver.
The Truck Stops, in this Country are just money machines. The efforts for the best conditions, for the driver or the trucks are a secondary concern at best.
The future, for Professional Drivers are a joke!
The industry, houses some of the worst overseen laws if any on the rights of the Drivers vs the ridiculous Brokers who rob the industry from both sides when ever possible and almost every time.
The business of doing business, of actually doing business to business is almost completely gone.
Thanks to the ridiculous Laws given favor to the Brokers, Insurance Companies, Toll Roads & Bridges, the unreasonable practices by Banks, Financial Companies as well as the Bookkeeping and Leasing Companies. Not at all in favor of this industry.
It’s as though, every side is a dog-eat-dog world in favor of pushing the little guy into the waiting arms of the Large Corporations that just want to make the industry ran by the Few Powerful and make all the rules only in their favor.
Until, there are only Trucks no drivers no industry. Just their profits and we are just another industry sent to the “Technology Grave”.
I’ve stopped counting the millions of miles I have done Yeats ago.
We only go from the East Coast To the West Coast and back now.
The needed spaces to park, that we are faced with having to choose are becoming less and less available if available at all.
According to our newer Laws regarding the E-Logs. Now have us shoetied to unreasonable and ridiculous choices.
Unreasonable, mostly unethical and mostly again ridiculous Laws that only bend to the direction of losing a “Safety Ratings” that have been made by p Piers or even people, with no comprehensive understanding of the industry or its matrices of multiple layers of pure proactive Laws bent to intrude not great a more comprehensive Safe environment for anyone except those Lawyers using these same Laws to grow rich as well as those in Congress getting rich from these unethical, unscrupulous “Special Interest Groups” wanting only to be heard as Champions of Safety and not the true Labels as just another Vulture working in an Industry that continues to enable these types to flourish in massive ways.
The Harbor of the most Illegal people behind the wheels and the worst types who continue to fleece this industry beyond the imagination.
It’s just a minor reflection of how screwed up our Political and Professional practices are these days.
The “Swamp” isn’t just in D.C..
Joe Trucker
Management ,do you really expect them to care from their warm bed at home every night. But you still better get the load to where it’s got to go on time and who cares if your tired. Hypocrisy at it’s finest.
Marcus Harts
I don’t understand why we as truck drivers have no freedom we are allowed to be woke up at anytime.. We aren’t allowed to drive in certain lanes and all we are trying to do is a job that it seems to me that America wouldn’t function without but look down on
Fernando
Of course management isn’t really concerned about parking… only as long as it brings in revenue
Dan Jones Sr
That’s a bunch of garbage. How could that be someone’s parking. It looks like a road, and with today’s DOT laws and elogs we don’t have a choice where to park most of the time. We have to obey the 11 hr rule by driving 11 hrs and resting for 10 hrs. As I found out there is also a 34 hr restart if you have used up all your 70 hrs for the week.
Steve Heglmeier
TA has gotten so bad that they are even taking showers away. It doesn’t pay to fuel at TA anymore as they are taking all the extras away, and that’s what you’re paying the 10 or 20 cents a gallon extra for, showers, parking, sit down restaurants. Mostly gone now. I paid $350 in Denver, CO TA for fuel so I could get a shower, yet I would have to pay $16 for a parking spot, the entire lot was paid parking, so buying the fuel I couldn’t even get my “free shower.” They wouldn’t even let me park to get the shower, and most of the spots were empty. As soon as I got to a spot the Nazi in the cart showed up demanding a receipt, and the fuel receipt won’t do. He said by tonight they’ll all be full, I said I only want to get my “free shower” and leave. The manager even came out and said I had to pay to park or no shower. No dice, no grace, don’t care!
Most of the TA’s are going this way, so I try to avoid them when at all possible. So now I fuel across the highway at the Sapp Brothers in Denver instead. Nice showers and free parking. I haven’t been back to that TA.
The security guard in a TA should not be armed unless he’s a certified LEO. The rent a cop should be charged. To shoot a truck driver (really, we are human beings) over a parking spot is beyond crazy. I hope there is more to this story. Maybe the driver pulled his gun and the rent a cop shot in self defence?? Anything else should result in serious charges, attempted murder at the least, and TA needs to change their policy, Mace, stun gun, etc. but firearm to collect parking revenue??? TA truly does not care about drivers.
They also changed their shower policy, if you get fuel twice in a 24 hour period, you only get one shower! So now you have to make sure if you need fuel twice in a 24 hour period, to make sure one of the stops is not a TA, if you have to use TA at all.
At one time I was instructed where I was to buy fuel, now it’s my choice, so no TA until they change some policies back to driver friendly. They never really have been wallet friendly, but drinks, showers and parking made up for the disparity in cost. No longer. As long as TA’s revenue stays high, they won’t change their ways, they are not concerned with how it affects the driver, they don’t care about drivers at all, it’s evident in their policies.
And since I switched to mostly independents I found that most of them give the driver free coffee, showers, parking, sometimes even a free meal for over a certain number of gallons. Check them out! They say 90% of carriers have less than 6 trucks, so let’s switch our business purchases to those independent stops who treat us like they used to in the 80’s and 90’s. With increasing expenses, just saving on the parking expenses alone makes it worthwhile to buy fuel from the independents, after all, isn’t that what most of us call ourselves? Let’s keep it in the family!
Stephen Webster
We are having a big problem in Ontario Canada with fungus and other problems with their feet and legs. I took somebody 56 into the hospital in Mississauga from a Brampton homeless shelter with infection. A plastic surgeon he already lost his leg from a foot infection 6 inches below the knee. Truck drivers need to have showers every other day and safe parking for rest breaks and proper health car this person may spend aleast 2 weeks in the hospital or may die by the end of February .
Lenora johnson
So very wright boycott the money hungry ass wholes ,I’ll prey for that driver my daughter is long haul driver i worrier over her all the time my son also,besides that sorry rent a cop could not eat or much of anything else in his sorry ass life WITHOUT TRUCK DRIVERS,,,BY THE WAY TA YOU WOULD GO BROKE AS HELL WITHOUT THE HARD-WORKING MEN AND WOMAN
Jeff
I would own that TA .
Kenny McCain
Some of these cities don’t even care about these truck drivers that security guard needs to be put under the jail. TA needs to lose their business over this drivers need to get together and protest them
Chuck Yeager
What every happened to the JASON’S LAW when the Federal government was created more parking for OTR DRIVERS..how comes nobody talking about shipping n receiving when driver gets hold at shipping and receiving 8 or hours..ohhh now u can drive since you got your 10hour sleep berth break your you shiitttiinnggg me..