Current:Home > FinanceParked semi-trucks pose a danger to drivers. Now, there's a push for change. -ValueCore
Parked semi-trucks pose a danger to drivers. Now, there's a push for change.
View
Date:2025-04-23 01:13:29
An unexpected danger kept Mario Gonzalez from making it home after visiting a relative in Texas this summer.
The 74-year-old retired teacher was driving on I-37, a highway south of San Antonio. Just before 10 p.m. local time, his pickup slammed into the back of a semi-truck parked on the side of the road. The truck's lights were off, and it was dark out. Gonzalez was speeding when he left the freeway, but an investigation found that he hit the brakes before the collision.
"They literally had stopped, parked and turned off the lights in the roadway," said Bob Hilliard, an attorney representing Gonzalez's family in a lawsuit against the trucking company. The company is denying any wrongdoing.
"That's a hidden danger. They're an invisible brick wall until the last second."
This isn't the first time such an accident has happened. Just two days earlier, a Greyhound bus had slammed into three semi-trucks parked along a rest area ramp in Illinois. Three people were killed.
There were 4,000 injury accidents involving big rigs near interstate on and off ramps in 2020, a report from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found. Another 55 accidents were fatal.
"This is a real problem," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CBS News. "This is not just a quality of life issue for truck drivers who deserve a good, convenient, safe place to park, but also it's a safety issue for the entire system."
Officials from the trucking industry say drivers are often forced to park in these places because there's only enough parking spots for one out of every 11 big trucks on the road, according to a report by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Danny Schnautz, the president of Clark Freight Lines in Houston, said that a "large percent of the time" it's "impossible" for truck drivers to find a safe place to park. The lack of parking, coupled with strict drive time rules, forces truckers into unsafe situations, he said.
"It's a daily occurrence. It may only be for a short period of time, but when your body needs to rest, you can't just throw it aside. When you've gone through two or three rest stops and truck stops, you've already pushed the time," Schnautz said.
CBS News found big rigs parked on freeway and rest stop shoulders across the country, from Maryland to Arizona, Indiana to Texas. This parking crowds the roads into rest areas that are already full of parked trucks. Investigators for the Gonzalez family found that that was the situation in the rest area the morning after Gonzalez died: The road was jammed with trucks on both sides.
The Texas Department of Public Safety, which includes the highway patrol, declined a request to speak to CBS News on camera. The agency did say in a statement that it is typically not illegal for a big rig to park on the side of an off ramp, provided it's on a shoulder and not blocking the active roadway.
Money from the bipartisan infrastructure bill and other federal programs is funding the expansion of truck parking at rest stops in several states. Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Mike Bost is sponsoring legislation that would make an additional $755 million available for states to expand truck parking.
"I hope that this is a wake-up call, that we do not have to have more of those type situations before members of Congress come to realize how important this is to get past," said Bost, who represents the state of Illinois, where the Greyhound bus accident happened.
Gonzalez's family said they want to see laws restrict big rig parking.
"Losing (Gonzalez) has left a hole in our family, a hole that nothing's going to fill," said his daughter Lori. " There are a lot of regrets that I didn't have that opportunity have some conversations that I needed to have with him. And now I never will. So I have to live with that every day."
- In:
- Car Accident
- Semi Truck
Kris Van Cleave is CBS News' senior transportation and national correspondent based in Phoenix.
TwitterveryGood! (3)
Related
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Is 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' fire, or all wet?
- Republican Mississippi governor ignores Medicaid expansion and focuses on jobs in State of the State
- Sex, violence, 'Game of Thrones'-style power grabs — the new 'Shōgun' has it all
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Trying To Protect Access To IVF
- Man who fatally shot 2 teens in a California movie theater is sentenced to life without parole
- Calvin University president quits after school gets report of ‘inappropriate’ conduct
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Tax refunds are higher so far this year, the IRS says. Here's the average refund amount.
Ranking
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- NTSB: Engine oil warnings sounded moments before jet crash-landed on Florida highway, killing 2
- Stock market today: Asian shares mixed after Wall St edges back from recent highs
- Shaquil Barrett released: What it means for edge rusher, Buccaneers ahead of free agency
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Restrictive abortion laws disproportionately impact Black women in GOP-led states, new Democratic memo notes
- New Orleans hat seller honored by France for service in WWII
- Make Your Blowout Last with This Drugstore Hairspray That's Celebrity Hairstylist-Approved
Recommendation
Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
Louisiana murder suspect pepper sprays deputy, steals patrol car in brazen escape
Untangling the Many Lies Joran van der Sloot Told About the Murders of Natalee Holloway & Stephany Flores
Arizona woman arrested after police say she ran over girlfriend while drunk with child in the car
South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
Will there be a government shutdown? Lawmakers see path forward after meeting with Biden
New York Jets releasing durable guard Laken Tomlinson in move that saves cap space
'Bluey' special 'The Sign' and a new episode premiere in April. Here's how to watch.