Is Trucking Getting Safer Or More Dangerous?

Hello, I'm still in the "thinking" stage for getting into the industry. I try to find anything and everything I can relating to driver safety at truck stops, rest stops and all other places to safely shut down and it just seem to be getting tougher to do. I can handle the different personalities drivers encounter in their day to day lives. I can handle surviving on the road, but the thing that concerns me the most is being able to shut down for the required rest times without having to worry about someone wanting to take what little I have. Any comments, suggestions on how to overcome this concern would be greatly appreciated.

David, firstly, being safe and secure in your truck at night is the primary concern of every driver in this country when he or she prepares to shut down for some LOVELY shut eye. Unless you're in a security patrolled yard with fences and guard towers, the possibility of being in danger is there. With that said, most truck stops and rest areas are safe places to Shut down. There are horror stories out there, ones of truck robberies, thefts, beatings, and even murders. I would be interested to know the statistics on home invasions and robberies when compared to truck break ins. I would imagine the numbers would indicate it's safer to sleep in your truck, rather than your home. Secondly, the fears you have are real, and the risks involved with this job are real. As professional drivers we have to deal with these facts day to day. The most important element in keeping yourself and your rig safe during your ten hour break is trip planning. Planning makes the difference between a prepared driver, with a plan, and a couple of contingency plans, and a desperate driver who must find last minute solutions to his or her parking needs. I believe I can proudly speak for all drivers here when I say we have, and will probably again in the future, slept in a location less than desirable. It's simply part of the career. State governments and large truck service oriented companies provide plenty of data, booklets, and information on parking for breaks. Take advantage! Thirdly, your personal safety is paramount. After your safety comes the safety of those around you, i.e. the motoring pubic, and then comes the safety of your rig and your load. Established drivers have tuned the ability to stay safe into an artform, that they practice day in and day out. This artform doesn't come easy, theres blood, sweet, and regret involved.

Don't let fear of the unknown keep you from enjoying a full filling career. Don't take this profession lightly either. Drivers are killed in accidents and other incidents every year. Know your limitations and abide by them, prepare yourself for challenges, and the reality of the dangers involved. Planning and preparation will keep you Healthy and moving.

I try to find anything and everything I can relating to driver safety at truck stops, rest stops and all other places to safely shut down and it just seem to be getting tougher to do. I can handle the different personalities drivers encounter in their day to day lives. I can handle surviving on the road, but the thing that concerns me the most is being able to shut down for the required rest times without having to worry about someone wanting to take what little I have.

David, I do not know where you have been researching for this type of information. I can tell you that I have covered this country back and forth repeatedly, spent countless nights in the nations truck stops and rest areas, and I have never felt threatened or unsafe. The folks who usually find themselves in trouble are the ones who could have avoided it if they would just use a little common sense. Oh, I realize occasionally there will be a horror story that we hear of an innocent victim of some crime, but in my experience those stories are almost always when the driver parked in some out of the way location instead of a truck stop where there were a lot of other people around also.

When you live a life on the road you kind of build up a sense of being on your guard, and you know if you have to park in a less desirable location then you lock the doors and stay in the truck, you don't go wandering around in the parking lot at 2 or 3 am just for the sake of taking a walk or what ever other reason. There is only a few places that I don't particularly like to park at, and when I'm doing my trip planning I will avoid them if I possibly can. I'm not very fond of the truck stops at West Memphis - not that anything bad has ever happened to me there, but I just don't like the "feeling" there.

Personally, I consider it more dangerous to start my engine and move on down the highway than it is to be parked at a truck stop.

If I were you I would put those fears to rest and start moving forward. Don't let unnecessary or irrational fears cripple you from the get go. Maybe truck driving isn't really for you, I certainly can't say, but if you want to be on the look out for danger, be on the lookout for the other motorists on the highway who just don't seem to know how to conduct themselves around an eighty thousand pound vehicle that is sharing the road with them.

What Old School said.

Remember; most drivers are like you. We're just trying to get on and make a living. We don't have time or interest in playing games with people. Now occasionally you'll get some idiot wanting you to buy dvd's and other crap. Same as just about any Walmart parking lot in America.

I'll tell you one thing I definitely know to be true; there is way less drama out in the world than the tv and news would have you believe.

One old guy I saw had on his visors "GO AWAY!" Those things are always down when you have your curtains pulled, so I doubt he gets any calls. But seriously. I live in a very nice house, in a nice neighborhood and I feel no less safe at the truck stops I pull into.

Personal safety is just like any time of your life. That is to be aware of your surroundings. Know what is going on around you. Pay attention to your surroundings and not your phone. Prey, human or animal, are either weak or unsuspecting.

I proved this to my 19 year old when he went on a trip with me to New Mexico last summer. I had gone inside to get us some drinks as we were stopped for the night. When I came back out I noticed he was between my truck and the one next to me looking at his phone. He was facing the direction I was coming from too. Well I walked past him to the driver's side and continued to walk around the truck and coming up behind him. Now I was pulling an EMPTY step deck and I am short but not that short as to not be seen. Well he still had his back to me as I came around the trailer and scared the crap out of him. He is better today and has had a full recovery. LOL

The population of humans is out of control. Youll think its rush hour at 10pm sometimes. The roads were built decades ago for less traffic. Construction is difficult to achieve with all the joyriders clogging the roads. They don't build enough areas for truckers to stop. Its absolutely asinine sometimes at these truck stops. This same population pays our checks but at same time the usa needs to be more trucker friendly. I see thousands of fuel stops and food areas for 4wheelers compared to truck stops. I dont know about more dangerous but the system could use some work.

I agree with everyone above....rarely do truckers run into problems with thieves and the like. I travelled 48 states and Canada for 15 years and never had the first incident. Not one. Never had anything stolen, was never threatened by anyone - nothing. And I'm only 5' 7"....it's not like I'm Hulk Hogan.

I tell people that truck stop and rest area parking lots are about equivalent to the parking lot at a big mall. You have to pay attention to what's going on around you, especially at night, and use common sense. And there are never any guarantees of course. But generally speaking it's pretty safe out there.

The roads were built decades ago for less traffic

Ain't that the truth! I live outside Buffalo, NY where the population is barely half of what it was back about 40-50 years ago because so much of our industry dried up. I've heard reports over the years that we have the lowest real estate prices and the best traffic flow of anyone in the nation and I believe it. When people around here complain about traffic I laugh because we have virtually no concerns. Traffic is "bad" if you have to go 45 mph on the Interstate for 5 or 10 minutes. I always tell people, "You have no idea how good we have it here. Try to move around a city anywhere else in the country like you can around Buffalo. You wouldn't believe what people have to go through day in and day out.

One old guy I saw had on his visors "GO AWAY!" Those things are always down when you have your curtains pulled, so I doubt he gets any calls. But seriously. I live in a very nice house, in a nice neighborhood and I feel no less safe at the truck stops I pull into.

I'll probably put that on my truck, too! Maybe a "GET OFF MY LAWN" sign as well.

A few months back I had a conversation with a 30 year veteran driver about this same subject. We talked about 2 different truck drivers who were murdered. One in Michigan, another in South Carolina. In both cases, these drivers parked in isolated areas where there was no one to witness their assault and murder. We talked about how neither driver used common sense or trip planning when deciding when and where to shut down for their 10 hour break. He made the statement that it makes more sense to violate your HOS to reach a safe haven to spend the night, than to shut down before the clock expires to park in an area that might cost you your life. He also commented that it's much more prudent to deal with company or DOT consequences after an HOS violation, than to make an unwise decision that may cause your wife to have to raise your unborn child without a father. I responded by commenting that there is a lot more responsibility in being a husband and father, than being a single man out here driving a rig, and that just a little common sense goes a long way.

The situation reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Teddy Roosevelt- "Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."