Ramp Parkers

The other thread about parking brought something to mind that I've been thinking about lately.

I find Ramp parkers to be very annoying, unprofessional and it denotes laziness and a lack of pride in our trade. It's very unsafe and I think diminishes us even further in the court of public opinion.

I've had countless times where I've pulled into a truckstop and seen drivers parked or parking on the ramp while there were still spots available in the stop. Ive even witnessed other company drivers from my company do it. Also with many more spots available in overflow lots next to the truckstop. They either can't or won't park in a suitable professional manner. The conclusion one can come to is that a great majority of them are too lazy to back or park.

In low volume parking areas like the nw and ne, the coasts, it should be part of your trip planning. It's one of the conditions of your route.

I routinely run LA, west coast and have yet to find myself out of hours parked on a ramp. I run swing shift and nights most of the time. When I'm in areas that I know I'll be at a loss for parking, I adjust my schedule to run till 10 am or so, when parking is available such as in the ne.

It's just not that difficult to assess your route and find targets of opportunity to park at. Shippers and recievers being the best as it allows you to get loaded/unloaded early. But stores such as lowes, sams club, Walmart, community colleges, hole in the wall off brand truck stops will all work.

I've parked at some strange areas but they were legit. To me the thought of starting a shift without knowing where and when I'm going to stop and how far I'm going to drive is a failure.

I agreed with everything you said.....until this:

To me the thought of starting a shift without knowing where and when I'm going to stop and how far I'm going to drive is a failure.

In my very successful OTR career, I almost never knew where I was going to park at the end of the day, or how far I would drive. There were far too many variables in my day for me to plan 14 hours ahead. Locking myself into a predetermined parking spot could cost me miles and productivity.

Rather, I'd do the best I could until just a couple hours before my shift ended. Then I would look ahead and map out a plan for where to park the truck. And I never had to park on a ramp.

The only exception is when I knew I'd make it to a customer's location for the night. Then it would just make more sense to stay there. Otherwise, I'm grabbing all the miles I can until it's time to start thinking of where to park.

Point taken. It would be better to perhaps say I at least have a good general idea of where I want to call it for the day and alternatives if it doesn'twork out. I too really narrow it down the last couple hours of the shift.

Obviously it's a dynamic and a plan is only valid until the first engagement. But I do at least like to plan as much as I can, borne out of a fear of being stranded out of hours with no where to park.

I would definitely agree that ramp parking should be avoided by using intelligent driving and planning practices. Would I go so far as to say that there is no excuse for ramp parking? No, because there are times when it might be necessary due to circumstances beyond the driver’s control.

For example, Driver Joe wants to get to a rest area that he knows is within his legal driving range for that day. But 50 miles before he gets that far, he “hits the wall” and is overwhelmed with fatigue. He has to fight to keep his eyes open. I would rather see Joe parked on the nearest ramp than falling asleep and rolling his truck because he was determined to make his pre-planned rest stop.

One of my regular assignments goes to the Dillion DC just west of Goddard, KS. They don’t allow overnight parking and Goddard has clamped down on all the usual alternatives. So, Dillion tells drivers to go west on 54/400 to the next exit ramp, about 4 miles away, and to park there. There are multiple trucks parked there every time I arrive early. So, that’s where I park and I feel it’s completely justified.

If a driver can avoid ever having to use a ramp, I certainly admire that level of ability. As for me, I’m more of a pragmatist than a purist.

Plenty of parking fairly close to that DC. Easy 20 to 30 minute drive in. That's assuming worst case scenario like getting there after 7 pm. The loves and J will be full, but the smaller independents are almost always available.

I find Ramp parkers to be very annoying, unprofessional and it denotes laziness and a lack of pride in our trade.

When I ran nights I along with other LTL drivers took our break on the ramps, since the rest areas and truck stops are full.

Do we still count as unprofessional, or do we qualify for an exception?

Good luck getting in those smaller, local places. Drivers in that area will use those spots as their designated and many times leave their personal vehicles to hold their place while they work. I've never parked on the ramp at an actual truck stop location but I do use ramps in rural areas many times because it's quiet and very little traffic at those exits. In fact, it's quite common. I also did it on many occasions doing heavy haul for the simple fact that in your larger cities and especially along the east coast, those places tend to be tight getting in and out and parking is already inadequate so taking up 2-3 spots is an inconvenience for others.

I'd much rather see a ramp parker than an in front of the enyrance of the only cat scale in a 40 mile radius parker.

I find Ramp parkers to be very annoying, unprofessional and it denotes laziness and a lack of pride in our trade.

When I ran nights I along with other LTL drivers took our break on the ramps, since the rest areas and truck stops are full.

Do we still count as unprofessional, or do we qualify for an exception?

LTL is a bit different, especially doubles. For the purposes of clarification, I'd say OTR and regional dry and refer.

Guess I don't qualify as a professional driver then.