Thinking about “Jason’s Law”
A couple weeks ago I was headed up 95 North through Connecticut and planned to spend the night at one of the service plazas along the way. They are not my first choice and I have written why before, mostly because of ‘Ladies of the Evening’ banging on the door in the middle of the night. The truck stops in that area are mostly jammed packed and it’s usually just easier to pull off into a service plaza- and even that can be tricky depending the location and the hour.
I can’t recall for sure but I think it was at the plaza near Bridgeport where this story occurred, but the rest of the story is still clear in my mind because it was a troubling experience.
I pulled in and did my usual routine of completing the logbook and other paperwork and then made a trip to visit the little boys room. As I walked towards the building I noticed an earlier model Nissan Maxima parked in the bus parking area directly behind my truck. I observed three people in car and even remember one person in the back smoking a cigarette. It’s not unusual for a car to be there, sometimes people use the drive-thru window and sit there and eat or otherwise get themselves in order before hitting the road again. This time was different though- I immediately felt a sense of dread, so to speak. The internal warning bells were going off in my head and I was concerned about just getting back out to my truck safely. Something just wasn’t right.
When I came out, the car was still there. I didn’t notice if anyone was inside because I didn’t even want to look. There were however, two people, a guy and a girl walking up the drivers side of my truck. There was a truck parked to my truck’s left so I thought maybe they were the owners- still, I hurried up to see where they were off to. They walked around the front of the truck next to mine and I quickly hopped in mine. As soon as the door closed, they quickly turned around and walked toward me as if the sound of the door closing was a doorbell to an opportunity.
The guy walks right to my window and starts talking. I can hear him just fine with the window up but he plays the ‘can’t hear you roll your window down’ game.
“What?” I said loudly after rolling the window down enough to speak freely and be heard, but not enough to have a hand reach in.
“I have that Maxima back there and I have some trouble and was wondering if you can help?”
He never asked for money and he never stated what the trouble was. The alarm bells are now very loud- these folks were throwing such bad vibes it was hard to keep from being blown off my seat.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Well I don’t know, maybe if you could help, she’d be willing to talk to you.....” he said as he pointed to his female accomplice.
“NO THANKS” I replied as I rolled the window up. He looked really pissed off and walked away in a huff. I was hoping that was the end of the ordeal. It wasn’t.
After a few minutes they moved their car from behind me to the empty truck spot on my passenger side. Worse yet, it was dark out and they parked about half way between my truck’s front end and the rear of the trailer. Now I was worried. What were their intentions? Why did they move the car? Are they armed? Will they slash my tires or otherwise damage my truck or trailer?
I was so uncomfortable I briefly gave thought to calling 911. That could bring repercussions- bringing the fuzz into this could set them off and they could come back later and finish me off. I could have also left, but I didn’t want to, this is where I aimed to be for the night but I darn sure wasn’t going to bed before they left.
I retreated to the back and had a cereal snack and checked in my mirror. Still there. Called home to relate my story and checked again. Still there. Finally after a good twenty minutes or so, they were gone. I’m happy to report I never saw them again.
Another time, back when I had my old truck, I had another entirely different experience. I parked overnight at one of our Homestores that is kind of out in the middle of nowhere. It was late Summer, early Fall and I took advantage of the remaining daylight to go over the truck with quick detail spray- that way she’d be all pretty for the next days adventures.
As I went about my routine, a punk looking kid walked from the front of the store, near the road, and disappeared into the woods behind me. I wondered for a second where he was going, then never gave it another thought.
My old truck had this weird habit- after you were parked for awhile, something would happen with the brakes. I’m not sure what it was or why it would happen, but the whole truck would suddenly jerk. It would do it without warning and sometimes it would be a gentle rocking feeling and other times a more jolting action. Sometimes this would happen ten minutes after setting the brakes, other times hours later.
That night, I was just about asleep- you know, that peaceful in between zone, and all of a sudden BANG! It felt like someone had jumped on the truck. I shot right up and was terrified. To make matters worse that punk came into my mind again. I was sure he had brought his friends back to rob me!
The curtains were closed so no one could see in, and I couldn’t see out. I climbed down from the bunk real slowly, as not to make it appear someone was moving around inside. Peek through the top of the curtains in all directions and I see no one. It’s eerily quiet. I thought about grabbing my hammer in the side box for defense and then I remembered my truck’s odd habit. Maybe that’s what happened? I couldn’t be sure and it took awhile to get back to sleep.
A few days after that, I watched a terrifying horror movie in my truck, one of those that completely freaks you out. I thanked my lucky stars I had not watched it that night in the middle of nowhere because I had I seen it then, I would have been calling 911 for sure!
These are two different situations, one was probably a valid concern and the other was just a coincidence, but both were not enjoyable overnight stays. The good news is that in over four years of being on the road, these are the only two really uncomfortable nights I’ve experienced. Both times things worked out in my favor. Others have not been so lucky.
There is another story about another driver, Jason Rivenburg who drove part time for a company in New York. You may have read a small blurb about him in your local paper but to me it’s a story deserving of more attention then the [mainstream] media gave it.
On March 5th, 2009, Jason was delivering to a Food Lion Distribution center in Elloree, SC. He showed up early and instead of being rewarded for his efforts he was turned away; supposedly due to company policy of not letting truckers wait on their property.
I’m not familiar with that area at all, so I don’t know if there were any truck stops or rest areas around, but Jason ended up traveling a short distance away to a abandoned gas station to park for his break. Sometime during this stop, he was fatally shot in the head, supposedly for a small amount of money he had on him. It took until Saturday morning for the police to find him, after Food Lion contacted someone about his (now late) delivery.
Besides sharing a first name and our careers, we had another thing in common, and that was being a husband and Father. Besides his Wife, Hope, he left behind a 2 year old little guy. His twins, a boy and a girl, were born 13 days after his death.
As a trucker, this story is a terrifying account of what bad things can happen on the road. As a Father, this is a heartbreaking story that shook me to my very core. Because of one persons (three have been arrested) terrible act, he will never be able to look into the eyes of his newborns. In turn, three children were robbed of knowing and experiencing life with their Father.
There isn’t anything good to come out of this story in my heart and mind; but there is a light being shone on the subject of driver safety when parking and that comes courtesy of Jason’s Family and Friends. They have undertaken the task of introducing legislation that address this subject directly. There is a website that includes a petition and more of Jason’s story. I have signed it and ask you to visit it yourself and consider signing the petition. You can visit the website by clicking here.
The legislation is called Jason’s law, and looks to address the issue of safe havens for drivers on the road. I think it is a good thing, but the issue of having delivery customers forced to provide parking for delivery trucks is a little unrealistic in most cases.
There are too many small, Mom & Pop operations out there that rely on deliveries from big trucks, and it would be impossible (and unfair) to require them to provide parking. Our Nation was built on Mom and Pop operations and there are still a lot of them out there.
On the other hand, there are plenty of large distribution centers (from food to underwear) all over our Country, that a large amount of trucks are delivering to. Perhaps the law should require if you have a certain amount of property, volume of incoming product, etc, that they will be REQUIRED to provide parking. Some already do, but obviously not all of them, or we wouldn’t be talking about Jason’s Law now.
Instead of calling for an all out boycott of Food Lion, my fellow drivers and I should educate ourselves on why some stores and other places don’t want trucks hanging around. They can make a mess. It seems some drivers will throw trash anywhere but where it belongs. Look around some highway ramps where trucks park, or even your local truck stop. Some of that mess comes from truckers, from household garbage to urine filled jugs, it’s a disgusting mess and someone will have to clean that up, and that’s an added expense. We can do better and even us self respecting drivers should ask ourselves if we should sit idly by when we witness a litter bug driver tarnish our image.
There are some new truck stops popping up here and there, but not enough. As an example, a brand new Love’s Travel Center opened not far from my house on interstate 78, and most times I drive by it, it’s completely packed. It would take several more truck stops, or even several large rest areas to alleviate the need for trucks to park on the ramps on and off the highway, as is common place on this highly traversed corridor.
Worse yet, due to the economic conditions of the Nation (and the World), many States are closing rest areas to save money. It’s commonplace now to read about these reductions in the newspapers and trade magazines which makes me wonder if we have begun a losing battle when finding a safe place to park.
I’m not one for Government involvement in even more issues, but could we look at one area where Uncle Sam now has his big hand in? Lets talk about General Motors (and other auto manufacturers). Hundreds of their dealers are being shuttered- what’s to become of these properties? If we took even a small percentage of the bigger properties and turned them into truck only parking areas with just basic amenities like good lighting and restrooms, it would be a step in the right direction.
What really gets me is the annual Federal Budget. You read about how millions of dollars are spent to analyze the breeding habits of some insect we never heard of in a far away land. How about we get our priorities straight and invest a little money in providing safe parking for the people who help our economy move along to begin with?
There are many other possibilities when it comes to finding a solution for safe parking. The issue of finding a place to take a break is a constant hassle for myself and other drivers. Removing the issue would make our jobs that much more enjoyable; having more options available for drivers to relax and get some rest could also lead to safer drivers.
I have learned there is some good to Jason’s story after all. His Family and friends are making an effort from their loss to make sure other drivers (that they don’t even know) do not suffer the same fate. They are obviously a good bunch of folks and Jason was lucky to have them in his short lifetime. I thank them for getting myself, and others, thinking about Jason’s Law and I hope in one form or another, it will one day become a reality.
I can’t recall for sure but I think it was at the plaza near Bridgeport where this story occurred, but the rest of the story is still clear in my mind because it was a troubling experience.
I pulled in and did my usual routine of completing the logbook and other paperwork and then made a trip to visit the little boys room. As I walked towards the building I noticed an earlier model Nissan Maxima parked in the bus parking area directly behind my truck. I observed three people in car and even remember one person in the back smoking a cigarette. It’s not unusual for a car to be there, sometimes people use the drive-thru window and sit there and eat or otherwise get themselves in order before hitting the road again. This time was different though- I immediately felt a sense of dread, so to speak. The internal warning bells were going off in my head and I was concerned about just getting back out to my truck safely. Something just wasn’t right.
When I came out, the car was still there. I didn’t notice if anyone was inside because I didn’t even want to look. There were however, two people, a guy and a girl walking up the drivers side of my truck. There was a truck parked to my truck’s left so I thought maybe they were the owners- still, I hurried up to see where they were off to. They walked around the front of the truck next to mine and I quickly hopped in mine. As soon as the door closed, they quickly turned around and walked toward me as if the sound of the door closing was a doorbell to an opportunity.
The guy walks right to my window and starts talking. I can hear him just fine with the window up but he plays the ‘can’t hear you roll your window down’ game.
“What?” I said loudly after rolling the window down enough to speak freely and be heard, but not enough to have a hand reach in.
“I have that Maxima back there and I have some trouble and was wondering if you can help?”
He never asked for money and he never stated what the trouble was. The alarm bells are now very loud- these folks were throwing such bad vibes it was hard to keep from being blown off my seat.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Well I don’t know, maybe if you could help, she’d be willing to talk to you.....” he said as he pointed to his female accomplice.
“NO THANKS” I replied as I rolled the window up. He looked really pissed off and walked away in a huff. I was hoping that was the end of the ordeal. It wasn’t.
After a few minutes they moved their car from behind me to the empty truck spot on my passenger side. Worse yet, it was dark out and they parked about half way between my truck’s front end and the rear of the trailer. Now I was worried. What were their intentions? Why did they move the car? Are they armed? Will they slash my tires or otherwise damage my truck or trailer?
I was so uncomfortable I briefly gave thought to calling 911. That could bring repercussions- bringing the fuzz into this could set them off and they could come back later and finish me off. I could have also left, but I didn’t want to, this is where I aimed to be for the night but I darn sure wasn’t going to bed before they left.
I retreated to the back and had a cereal snack and checked in my mirror. Still there. Called home to relate my story and checked again. Still there. Finally after a good twenty minutes or so, they were gone. I’m happy to report I never saw them again.
Another time, back when I had my old truck, I had another entirely different experience. I parked overnight at one of our Homestores that is kind of out in the middle of nowhere. It was late Summer, early Fall and I took advantage of the remaining daylight to go over the truck with quick detail spray- that way she’d be all pretty for the next days adventures.
As I went about my routine, a punk looking kid walked from the front of the store, near the road, and disappeared into the woods behind me. I wondered for a second where he was going, then never gave it another thought.
My old truck had this weird habit- after you were parked for awhile, something would happen with the brakes. I’m not sure what it was or why it would happen, but the whole truck would suddenly jerk. It would do it without warning and sometimes it would be a gentle rocking feeling and other times a more jolting action. Sometimes this would happen ten minutes after setting the brakes, other times hours later.
That night, I was just about asleep- you know, that peaceful in between zone, and all of a sudden BANG! It felt like someone had jumped on the truck. I shot right up and was terrified. To make matters worse that punk came into my mind again. I was sure he had brought his friends back to rob me!
The curtains were closed so no one could see in, and I couldn’t see out. I climbed down from the bunk real slowly, as not to make it appear someone was moving around inside. Peek through the top of the curtains in all directions and I see no one. It’s eerily quiet. I thought about grabbing my hammer in the side box for defense and then I remembered my truck’s odd habit. Maybe that’s what happened? I couldn’t be sure and it took awhile to get back to sleep.
A few days after that, I watched a terrifying horror movie in my truck, one of those that completely freaks you out. I thanked my lucky stars I had not watched it that night in the middle of nowhere because I had I seen it then, I would have been calling 911 for sure!
These are two different situations, one was probably a valid concern and the other was just a coincidence, but both were not enjoyable overnight stays. The good news is that in over four years of being on the road, these are the only two really uncomfortable nights I’ve experienced. Both times things worked out in my favor. Others have not been so lucky.
There is another story about another driver, Jason Rivenburg who drove part time for a company in New York. You may have read a small blurb about him in your local paper but to me it’s a story deserving of more attention then the [mainstream] media gave it.
On March 5th, 2009, Jason was delivering to a Food Lion Distribution center in Elloree, SC. He showed up early and instead of being rewarded for his efforts he was turned away; supposedly due to company policy of not letting truckers wait on their property.
I’m not familiar with that area at all, so I don’t know if there were any truck stops or rest areas around, but Jason ended up traveling a short distance away to a abandoned gas station to park for his break. Sometime during this stop, he was fatally shot in the head, supposedly for a small amount of money he had on him. It took until Saturday morning for the police to find him, after Food Lion contacted someone about his (now late) delivery.
Besides sharing a first name and our careers, we had another thing in common, and that was being a husband and Father. Besides his Wife, Hope, he left behind a 2 year old little guy. His twins, a boy and a girl, were born 13 days after his death.
As a trucker, this story is a terrifying account of what bad things can happen on the road. As a Father, this is a heartbreaking story that shook me to my very core. Because of one persons (three have been arrested) terrible act, he will never be able to look into the eyes of his newborns. In turn, three children were robbed of knowing and experiencing life with their Father.
There isn’t anything good to come out of this story in my heart and mind; but there is a light being shone on the subject of driver safety when parking and that comes courtesy of Jason’s Family and Friends. They have undertaken the task of introducing legislation that address this subject directly. There is a website that includes a petition and more of Jason’s story. I have signed it and ask you to visit it yourself and consider signing the petition. You can visit the website by clicking here.
The legislation is called Jason’s law, and looks to address the issue of safe havens for drivers on the road. I think it is a good thing, but the issue of having delivery customers forced to provide parking for delivery trucks is a little unrealistic in most cases.
There are too many small, Mom & Pop operations out there that rely on deliveries from big trucks, and it would be impossible (and unfair) to require them to provide parking. Our Nation was built on Mom and Pop operations and there are still a lot of them out there.
On the other hand, there are plenty of large distribution centers (from food to underwear) all over our Country, that a large amount of trucks are delivering to. Perhaps the law should require if you have a certain amount of property, volume of incoming product, etc, that they will be REQUIRED to provide parking. Some already do, but obviously not all of them, or we wouldn’t be talking about Jason’s Law now.
Instead of calling for an all out boycott of Food Lion, my fellow drivers and I should educate ourselves on why some stores and other places don’t want trucks hanging around. They can make a mess. It seems some drivers will throw trash anywhere but where it belongs. Look around some highway ramps where trucks park, or even your local truck stop. Some of that mess comes from truckers, from household garbage to urine filled jugs, it’s a disgusting mess and someone will have to clean that up, and that’s an added expense. We can do better and even us self respecting drivers should ask ourselves if we should sit idly by when we witness a litter bug driver tarnish our image.
There are some new truck stops popping up here and there, but not enough. As an example, a brand new Love’s Travel Center opened not far from my house on interstate 78, and most times I drive by it, it’s completely packed. It would take several more truck stops, or even several large rest areas to alleviate the need for trucks to park on the ramps on and off the highway, as is common place on this highly traversed corridor.
Worse yet, due to the economic conditions of the Nation (and the World), many States are closing rest areas to save money. It’s commonplace now to read about these reductions in the newspapers and trade magazines which makes me wonder if we have begun a losing battle when finding a safe place to park.
I’m not one for Government involvement in even more issues, but could we look at one area where Uncle Sam now has his big hand in? Lets talk about General Motors (and other auto manufacturers). Hundreds of their dealers are being shuttered- what’s to become of these properties? If we took even a small percentage of the bigger properties and turned them into truck only parking areas with just basic amenities like good lighting and restrooms, it would be a step in the right direction.
What really gets me is the annual Federal Budget. You read about how millions of dollars are spent to analyze the breeding habits of some insect we never heard of in a far away land. How about we get our priorities straight and invest a little money in providing safe parking for the people who help our economy move along to begin with?
There are many other possibilities when it comes to finding a solution for safe parking. The issue of finding a place to take a break is a constant hassle for myself and other drivers. Removing the issue would make our jobs that much more enjoyable; having more options available for drivers to relax and get some rest could also lead to safer drivers.
I have learned there is some good to Jason’s story after all. His Family and friends are making an effort from their loss to make sure other drivers (that they don’t even know) do not suffer the same fate. They are obviously a good bunch of folks and Jason was lucky to have them in his short lifetime. I thank them for getting myself, and others, thinking about Jason’s Law and I hope in one form or another, it will one day become a reality.
Comments
I don't think the powers that be realize that many of us truckers would be just fine with a large well-lit piece of gravelled parking lot. Maybe something like that one they put in around the 100mm on I 80 in Nebraska.
It's not like we're asking for attendents, vending machines, and fancy landscaping. Just someplace safe to shut down and sleep the night would suit many of us just fine.
I am looking for all the information I can for a "Blog Talk Radio" show about getting more people to take action and call their Reps. in this "down to the wire" time for "Jason's Law"
I'd like to read a few paragraphs from your post.
You can reach me at TruckerDesiree@gmail.com
maybe you might like to call in an discuss with us?
Short notice but July 5 at 5pm EST