Plaza 23 Truck Stop / Service

BY TARYN FITSIK

ALBANY, N.Y.–They jeopardize their safety every time they pull off the road, and their situation worsens when they can’t find a safe place to do so.

Two years ago, a Schoharie man was murdered in South Carolina, after being robbed of a meager $7.00 at night at an abandoned gas station.

Wednesday, his widow and local Congressman Tonko introduced a bill to help alleviate parking shortages.

When truck drivers climb into their big rigs to start their workweek, they are about to embark on at least 2,100 mile road-trips.

Keith Smith has been driving for fourteen years, one of his most dangerous moments was when he was attacked by a man over a fuel pump.

“He came at me with a hammer,” says Smith. “Even in broad daylight when you’re in a safe zone it’s not necessarily safe. So at nighttime it just adds that much of a degree to the whole situation.”

Smith says darkness adds another whole element of danger to a truck driver’s job, and says his situation could have been a lot worse if it happened during the night.

“You’d be fighting for your life. There’s no one around.”

Smith calls what happened to Jason Rivenburg in South Carolina senseless, and Rivenburg’s family would agree.

Since his death in 2009, they have been pushing for a law to be passed in his name, calling attention to the nationwide shortage of safe, accessible rest areas for truck drivers.

“It’s a situation where you try to go to lighted areas and secure areas, but that’s not always possible,” says truck driver Leon Weyer.

“You really don’t get a good night’s sleep, because you’re dosing, you’re not aware of what’s around you,” adds Smith.

Smith says truck drivers are often left to fend for themselves, and if Jason’s Law is passed, drivers’ support system would become much stronger.

“It is senseless,” he says. “Drivers are just out there trying to make a living, that’s all they’re trying to do.”

If Jason’s Law is passed, Congressman Tonko says twenty million dollars a year will go towards constructing safe parking facilities.