Notice2026-06597
Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of a New Information Collection Request: Quantifying the Benefits of Creating New Truck Parking Spaces
Primary source
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Published
April 6, 2026
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This notice invites comments on a proposed information collection titled Quantifying the Benefits of Creating New Truck Parking Spaces. This research study will collect approximately 1,000 survey responses from truck drivers about their experiences with finding truck parking spaces to estimate the monetary benefits of creating new truck parking spaces. Eight public comments were received in response to the 60-day Federal Register notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 65 (Monday, April 6, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 65 (Monday, April 6, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17324-17326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06597]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2025-0787]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of a New
Information Collection Request: Quantifying the Benefits of Creating
New Truck Parking Spaces
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR)
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review
and approval. This notice invites comments on a proposed information
collection titled Quantifying the Benefits of Creating New Truck
Parking Spaces. This research study will collect approximately 1,000
survey responses from truck drivers about their experiences with
finding truck parking spaces to estimate the monetary benefits of
creating new truck parking spaces. Eight public comments were received
in response to the 60-day Federal Register notice.
[[Page 17325]]
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before May 6,
2026.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be submitted within 30 days of
publication of this notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find
this information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Britton, Office of Research and
Registration, FMCSA, W58-213, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590-0001; (202) 366-9980; <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b7d3d6d999d5c5dec3c3d8d9f7d3d8c399d0d8c1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f89c9996d69a8a918c8c9796b89c978cd69f978e">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Quantifying the Benefits of Creating New Truck Parking
Spaces.
OMB Control Number: 2126-TBD.
Type of Request: New ICR.
Respondents: Commercial truck drivers.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,000.
Estimated Time per Response: 25 minutes.
Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new ICR.
Frequency of Response: Each survey participant will provide only
one survey response.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 416 hours (0.416 hours per response
x 1,000 respondents).
Background
The nationwide shortage of truck parking spaces is a significant
source of frustration for truck drivers, increasing expenses for the
trucking industry and decreasing t safety for all road users. The
American Transportation Research Institute conducts an annual survey of
trucking industry stakeholders (Critical Issues in the Trucking
Industry), and the 2024 survey found that, for the second year in a
row, the lack of available truck parking was the second highest
industry concern overall, and the number one concern among truck
drivers. The lack of truck parking often forces truck drivers to choose
between violating federal hours-of-service laws and using unsafe,
illegal parking spaces.
Many government, safety, and industry organizations are working to
create more truck parking spaces, but there is a lack of research on
the actual precise monetary benefits of new truck parking spaces. These
benefits include decreasing carriers' costs, increasing drivers' well-
being, and reducing the number of crashes. To help State and local
policymakers make informed decisions about the construction of truck
parking spaces, FMCSA is conducting a research study, titled
Quantifying the Benefits of Creating New Truck Parking Spaces, which
will survey truck drivers about their parking habits and experiences,
gaining the exact information needed to quantify the benefits of new
truck parking spaces.
Although researchers have conducted many other surveys on truck
parking, none have reliably estimated the statistics needed, including
how often and how long truck drivers (a) park in unauthorized spaces,
(b) stop driving early to obtain a parking space, (c) drive off their
routes to find parking, and (d) drive past hours-of-service limits to
find parking. The results of this survey will be combined with related
research to produce estimates of the benefits of creating new truck
parking spaces in different areas, which could be beneficial to the
many government and private organizations that decide where to build
new truck parking spaces.
The main objective of this project is to estimate the benefits of
new truck parking spaces, but the project will also answer four related
research questions:
1. How many trucks are parked in authorized and unauthorized areas
per day, on average? In other words, how large is the nationwide
shortage of truck parking spaces?
2. What are the most cost-effective methods for increasing truck
parking capacity?
3. Which truck parking information management systems are used most
often and are most effective?
4. What percentage of drivers routinely make reservations, pay for
parking, or use various other truck parking services?
Several thousand truck drivers, from a wide range of sectors, will
be asked to complete the 25-minute online survey, with a goal of
obtaining approximately 1,000 complete responses.
Title 23, United States Code (U.S.C.), Chapter 4, Section 403
authorizes the Secretary to use funds appropriated to carry out this
section to conduct research and development activities, including
demonstration projects and the collection and analysis of highway and
motor vehicle safety data and related information with respect to all
aspects of highway and traffic safety systems and conditions relating
to vehicle, highway, driver, passenger, motorcyclist, bicyclist, and
pedestrian characteristics; accident causation and investigations; and
human behavioral factors and their effect on highway and traffic
safety, including driver education, impaired driving and distracted
driving; and research on, evaluations of, and identification of best
practices related to driver education programs (including driver
education curricula, instructor training and certification, program
administration, and delivery mechanisms) and make recommendations for
harmonizing driver education and multistage graduated licensing
systems; and the effect of State laws on any aspects, activities, or
programs described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) (see 23 U.S.C.
403(b)(1)(A)(i)-(ii), 23 U.S.C. 403(b)(1)(B)(i)-(iii), 23 U.S.C.
403(b)(1)(E), 23 U.S.C. 403(b)(1)(F)).
FMCSA published a notice in the Federal Register with a 60-day
public comment period to announce this proposed information collection
on November 28, 2025 (90 FR 54850). A total of eight comments were
received from the public. Five of the comments were from truck drivers
(one of whom created a truck parking business), two were from industry
organizations (American Trucking Associations and Truckload Carriers
Association), and one was from a private company (Samsara). Each
commenter agreed that truck parking is a significant issue for the
commercial trucking industry. Seven of the eight commenters were
supportive of the study, while one commenter (an anonymous truck
driver) was skeptical of government involvement in truck parking and
preferred to let private truck stop companies solve the truck parking
shortage entirely.
Anthony Peetz and an anonymous commenter mentioned how the truck
parking situation has changed over the past several decades and
provided examples of how the trucking industry's needs have surpassed
what infrastructure and the private sector are currently able to
provide. Anthony Peetz and the American Trucking Associations mentioned
the growth in paid parking spaces and the frustration truck drivers
often feel when their only options are paid spaces and unauthorized
spaces. FMCSA's study will focus on the benefits of truck parking
spaces in general and does not intend to assess the advantages and
disadvantages of paid and free spaces.
The American Trucking Associations, Samsara, and an anonymous
commenter mentioned costs associated with the lack of truck parking
spaces, including carrier operating costs, crashes involving trucks
parked in unauthorized spaces, and driver well-being. FMCSA is
including all of the costs mentioned by commenters in the study, as
well as others not mentioned in the comments (such as the costs of
travel that occurs
[[Page 17326]]
when a driver goes off his/her main route to search for parking).
Samsara mentioned the potential for telematics data to be helpful.
FMCSA agrees and is indeed considering utilizing telematics data for
the study.
The American Trucking Associations and Gary D. Terhune mentioned
the facilities that are sometimes available at truck parking locations
(restrooms, trash cans, vending machines, etc.). FMCSA agrees that
those amenities are important, but estimating their benefits would be
beyond the scope of this study.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including: (1) whether the proposed
collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's functions; (2)
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA to enhance the
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4)
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of
the collected information.
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
David M. Sutula,
Acting Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2026-06597 Filed 4-3-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
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