New WSDOT Program Helps Truck Drivers Locate Rest Stops & Parking

My grandfather spent his life as a trucker, and it never occurred to me that finding a safe spot to park for the night is quite the ordeal for a trucker driving the roads of Washington State.

Safe Rest: WA State Adds Truck Parking Alerts on I-5

What most people don’t realize is that truck drivers face a daily challenge most of us never think about: finding a safe place to park.

It's something I know I haven't thought of until recently, but it looks like the WSDOT has a solution to help out our truckers.

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That’s where a new program from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) comes in.

It’s called the Truck Parking Information Management System (TPIMS), and it’s designed to help truckers safely find open parking spots at rest areas and weigh stations along the I-5 corridor.

Washington State Rolls Out Tech to Ease Truck Parking Struggles

The idea is actually pretty simple: give truckers real-time and predictive updates on where parking is available at rest areas and weigh stations.

Here's why it matters in Washington State: Truck drivers are legally required to stop after a set number of hours behind the wheel, but there is a shortage of safe parking, with only one space for every 11 trucks.

Many drivers spend over an hour just searching for a place to pull over, so it's a great addition to help keep our WA State truck drivers safe.

In Washington, three out of four truckers say they struggle to find parking at least once a week, so the new system lets drivers see what parking is open and even plan up to four hours ahead.

I wish they had this back when my grandfather was a trucker; he would've loved it.

Technology has come a long way.

According to the WSDOT, here are the locations to use the system, with more on the way in the future:

• Gee Creek Rest Area northbound (north of Vancouver, milepost 11)
• Gee Creek Rest Area southbound (south of Woodland, milepost 12)
• Maytown Rest Area (south of Olympia, milepost 93)
• Fort Lewis Weigh Station (near DuPont, milepost 117)
• SeaTac Weigh Station (between Fife and Federal Way, milepost 140)
• Smokey Point Rest Area southbound (south of Mount Vernon, milepost 207)
• Smokey Point Rest Area northbound (north of Marysville, milepost 207)
• Custer Rest Area northbound (north of Bellingham, milepost 267)
• Custer Rest Area southbound (south of Blaine, milepost 269)
• Toutle River Rest Area northbound (north of Castle Rock, milepost 54)
• Ridgefield Weigh Station (north of Ridgefield, milepost 15)

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