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Where are all the trucks going to park after Jan 4? There isn’t enough parking now! We are not allowed to sleep on the on- and off-ramps. If you’re caught you face a fine. With the rest areas and truckstops full by dinnertime, what are we supposed to do? fmcfadyen@msn.com Plan ahead. Sorry that’s not much of an answer, but there really isn’t an answer to the question, short of building more parking spaces. And that’s not going to happen any time soon. It’s going to be a real problem. There may be occasions when you’ll have to stop early, just to get a place to park, even if you have hours available. The on- and off-ramps could be a solution, but the tickets will be hard to handle. Perhaps if all drivers took the tickets and then went back to sleep till the rest period was over then moved along the cops would soon realize that they’re facing an uphill battle. There are two issues here. One; if the cop forces you to move along when you legally out of hours, he or she is forcing you to commit a violation, which isn’t permitted. And two, staying there in a restricted area is also a violation. Which of the violations is likely to be treated the most harshly? I’d take the ticket, then go back to fight in court using due diligence as my defense, saying the venturing out into traffic when tired (beyond your hours) is clearly a more dangerous move than parking on an freeway access ramp. Either way, it’ll be an interesting argument.
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