What Makes a Good Truck Stop?
Posted on Thu, Jun 23, 2011 @ 10:04 AM
Being a trucker means you will eventually have to utilize truck stops. Ideally,
truckers would stay at home and next best would maybe be a hotel, but for the trucking lifestyle these simply are not viable options. Truck drivers really only use these facilities for a little shut eye and a quick bite to eat; there isn’t as much driver interaction at stops as there used to be. The overuse of technology such as cell phones, DVD players, tablets, and laptops, decreases the amount of contact drivers have with each other while at stops. With that said, the “community” at these truck stops isn’t really a criterion when it comes to determining a good truck stop.
The first way to tell if a truck stop is a good one is by cleanliness. How clean a truck stop is can tell you a lot about the quality of its other aspects such as safety. It is easy to gauge cleanliness without even leaving your truck; just look to see if any garbage cans are overflowing, if there are a lot of gas spills, or if there is trash elsewhere on the premises. This will most likely tell you the conditions of the showers, sleeping quarters, etc. Also, if a stop is not clean there is a good chance it is not as safe as a stop that is well kept. There are other signs that can indicate the safety of the stop, such as vagrant people, lighting, and parking areas.
If too many people are loitering around the stop during the day, only more will be there at night which doesn’t spell well for the safety of the stop; it might be wise to drive to the next stop. If the parking area is well lit then there’s a good chance the stop is safe, if it isn’t well lit then you may not sleep as easily wondering if your belongings will all be in your rig come daytime. Another thing to look for is security guards or cameras. Some stops have guards patrolling the grounds and others just have cameras to keep watch on over the rigs at night. It’d be better to find a stop with guards just because you never know who is watching or not watching through those cameras.
These are just some tips that will help you choose the right truck stops and will make your trips just that much easier. For more tips try some of these links to truckers’ forums:
• http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/general-expediter-forum/42817-what-makes-good-truckstop-3.html
• http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/questions-to-truckers-from-general-public/89456-best-truck-stops-in-america.html