The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is launching a nationwide study to quantify the economic and safety benefits of creating new truck parking spaces. FMSCA says the survey is aimed at giving state and local governments clearer data that would help them make informed decisions about the parking construction.

The agency says the effort comes at a time when parking shortages continue to top driver concerns lists, citing the American Transportation Research Institute’s 2024 survey, which ranked parking as the second-highest concern overall and the top concern among drivers for the second consecutive year.

In a 25-minute online survey, FMCSA plans on asking truck drivers in-depth questions about how often they face issues finding legal parking, how far and how frequently they deviate off-route to locate a space, and whether they have had to park illegally or shut down early to secure a spot.

The agency will ask other related questions, including how many trucks are parked in authorized and unauthorized areas per day, which parking information systems drivers find most useful, and how often drivers pay for reservations or rely on private parking services. The survey will be distributed to thousands of drivers across multiple sectors, with a goal of collecting around 1,000 complete responses.