Overnight Stops: Personal Safety Tips for Drivers
Trucker's Corner
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From frigid winters to boiling-hot summers to dangerous truck stops, big rig drivers face safety hazards on a daily basis. Many truck stops are relatively safe, but others are can be sites of violent crimes like robbery, rape, assault, and murder. One reason for this is a shortage of semi-truck parking spaces, which forces drivers to park in less safe, poorly-lit areas.
Although recent legislation requires states to survey periodically exactly how much parking is available to truckers and increase the number of truck parking spaces nationwide, drivers still take a risk when staying overnight at truck stops. Our top 5 truck stop safety tips can help to reduce the likeliness of being targeted on your next long-distance haul.
Staying Overnight at Truck Stops: Safety Tips
1. Choose your parking spot carefully.
Putting some distance between yourself and other trucks reduces the risk of damage to your truck, but it may be better to put personal safety first if you can’t avoid a truck stop that you know to be dangerous.
2. Protect your cargo with a padlock.
Although cargo theft is more likely in some places than others, the smartest approach is to assume that it is always a possibility.
3. Conceal personal belongings and high-value cargo.
You could be targeted if you talk openly about valuable cargo or leave your personal belongings in plain view. Pull the blinds on your cabin and keep quiet about the contents of your cargo.
4. Read truck stop reviews and avoid stopping in high-crime areas.
Learn as much as you can about the truck stops and crime rates of areas on your route. This makes it easier to avoid stopping somewhere dangerous and to be prepared if you have no other options.
5. Be aware of your surroundings.
Violent crime isn’t the only truck stop safety risk to be aware of, especially if a stop is poorly lit or has wet, icy surfaces. You’ll be sharing a small space with lots of other drivers, so it’s also a good idea to keep an eye out for inattentive or aggressive driving.
Learn More About Truck Stop Safety with International Used Truck Center
If you have further questions about staying overnight at truck stops that our safety tips didn’t answer, we’re happy to help— just contact us online or by calling 866-333-9469. Check out the International Used Truck Center Driver’s Corner for our guides to heart health on the road, cleaning fogged headlights, and more.
