Truckers Sleeping on the Shoulder

A truck driver in California was sleeping on the shoulder of the interstate (yes, really) and was hit by a vehicle.  3 people in the SUV died and one is in critical condition.  They are still determining what caused the accident but the police pointed out that the truck would not have been hit had it not been there.  The truck driver was sleeping at the time and did admit that he parked there because he was nearly out of time on his ELD and did not want to get a violation.  Is that an excuse, though?  By the way, the truck driver was charged with illegal parking but they said those charges could be upgraded.  The truck driver said it is nearly impossible to find parking where he was going.  What is the solution?  Parking on the shoulder is certainly not the answer.  That driver should have parked long before he got close to his time especially since he admits knowing that there is not going to be any safe legal parking when he got to his destination.  Until we as drivers allow these loads to be late and we allow the warehouses to empty out will there be any action on the hours of service.  Yes, the FMCSA has said they are looking into changes and that announcement will come this month.  If you have to park 2 hours away, so be it.  These companies need to understand that you won't violate the HOS rules.  By the way, it is illegal for a company to take any action against you for not violating the FMCSA rules.  Let that freight sit.  Violating and cheating on the logs is what got us here in the first place.

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