Driving across the top of Vermont with a load of ingredients for cattle feed, trucker Chris Thomas was still hours away from finishing his workday and already trying to figure out where to sleep.
As a full-time over-the-road driver, Thomas, 44, hauls cargo across the United States from Kentucky. And after spending half his life on the road, Thomas finds himself spending more and more time figuring out where to park his semitrailer at the end of the workday.
Like many over-the-road truckers, Thomas works, eats, and sleeps in the cab of his grey Mack Anthem.
"The reality is there's no parking," he said after crossing over Lake Champlain from New York. "There's nowhere to park, and communities don't want us."
Now, the Trump administration has begun handing out nearly $500 million in grants to help the nation's 3.5 million truckers safely park, including reducing the number of semis dangerously parked on interstate ramps or jammed into existing rest stops.
