ALBANY, N.Y. - Friday, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and U.S. Representative Paul Tonko announced the passage of "Jason's Law" to increase safety at truck stops.
"Jason's Law" is a measure to increase security and improve conditions at truck stops across the country as a part of the Environment and Public Works Committee's Transportation Reauthorization bill.
The legislation is named in honor of Schoharie County trucker, Jason Rivenburg, who tragically lost his life during a robbery attempt on March 5, 2009 while resting at an abandoned gas station in South Carolina.
As included in the Senate transportation reauthorization bill, "Jason's Law" authorizes funding to be spent on truck parking facilities and identifies that it is a national priority to address the shortage of long-term parking for commercial motor vehicles and the safety of drivers.
Projects eligible to be funded with highway safety funds include:
- Constructing safety rest areas that include parking for commercial motor vehicles.
- Constructing commercial motor vehicle parking facilities adjacent to commercial truck stops and travel plazas.
- Opening existing facilities to commercial motor vehicle parking, including inspection and weigh stations and park-and-ride facilities.
- Promoting the availability of publicly or privately provided commercial motor vehicle parking on the National Highway System using intelligent transportation systems and other means.
- Constructing turnouts along the National Highway System for commercial motor vehicles.
- Making capital improvements to public commercial motor vehicle parking facilities currently closed on a seasonal basis to allow the facilities to remain open year-round.
- Improving the geometric design of interchanges on the National Highway System to improve access to commercial motor vehicle parking facilities.
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