Mr. President, you need to “encourage” all truck stops and rest stops to reopen… to provide Over the Road (OTR) drivers with the necessities of life…food, showers, clean toilet facilities, sleeping quarters.
Most of those restaurants and motels and rest stops are closed!
The weigh stations are closed and that is a good thing for these trucks. Keep them closed until this is over!
Even if they (truck stops) must limit their services to OTR drivers and not the general public…subsidize the operations with SBA, Payroll Protection Funds.
They are our lifeline to survival and are being ignored by the people who depend on their services…we MUST throw them a lifeline or they will be forced to stop driving.
NOT FAIR!
They don’t even have safe places to park their rigs that have full facilities and a sleeper cab. It’s been a one way street!
If they stop running, it won’t be because they want to stop …it will be because they have to. They need proper sleep and nourishment to be alert and safe. They know when they must stop. Most are very conscientious about safety for themselves and others. The Federal Government has imposed almost unbearable rules and regulations on OTR drivers and companies…making stops mandatory…but where, how?
Last summer, while I was on the New York Thruway, early morning, I saw something that made me feel great…hundreds of OTR truckers parked to overflowing at Thruway truck stops, to the point of actually parking on the shoulder of the Thruway itself! That means our economy is roaring, and it was!
I used to travel the NY Thruway a lot and NEVER saw anything like that, and it wasn’t just one stop…it was all of them! So you can imagine how tough it must be if all those trucks are trying to bring us food, medicine, clothing …all the essentials! Where can they get what THEY need to accomplish that feat?