Rest Areas in NC and ONP

carl2591 wrote:
I too was an OTR drive and did not have any issues to speak of.. more were at the truckstops with the door knocking beavers wanting a date.

Nowadays the cops ride through them all the time especially at night so the instances of issue is low.

Terryallan wrote:
Having been a OTR driver. I wouldn't suggest overnighting in a reas area. They can get pretty rough at night, and if you are in a MH you can just fire up and leave. But if you are in the trailer, It can be a long dangerous walk to the truck to move out of harms way

Off subject. But once while leaving the Petro near Dallas. One of our drivers had to stay the night, and of course the ladies were on the radio looking for dates. We told them where he was parked, and told them to come on over, as we ran up the ramp. Big Foot finally had to move his tractor to get some sleep.

And I do hope it has changed a lot. I can remember sitting in the truck in a rest area, as the girls with their pimps walked down the line of trucks asking for dates. Then we NEVER got out of the truck at night with out the tire billy.

I too was an OTR drive and did not have any issues to speak of.. more were at the truckstops with the door knocking beavers wanting a date.

Nowadays the cops ride through them all the time especially at night so the instances of issue is low.

Terryallan wrote:
Having been a OTR driver. I wouldn't suggest overnighting in a reas area. They can get pretty rough at night, and if you are in a MH you can just fire up and leave. But if you are in the trailer, It can be a long dangerous walk to the truck to move out of harms way

I got a follow up message from NCDOT when asked did that include all rest stops..

they replied..

Sent By: Contact Us Administrator Date/Time: 10/21/2016 10:20:58 AM
Comment:
That is correct except for several small locations like Blowing Rock (Watauga Co.) on US 221 that has no truck space and Englehard (Hyde Co.) on US 264 that has only car spaces or ones that might be signed no trucks.

So now we know..

We just got back from a cross country trip, and we stayed in some very nice rest stops. Never felt like we were in danger. I will tell you this, if you are in I40 heading west and think about a rest stop in Arkansas.... forget it. Most are closed due to remodeling... according to the signs... Ohio has nice rest stops. Funny thing I saw in a Ohio rest stop was a 40 ft diesel pusher class A with all 4 slides out, the generator running, the satellite dish up and the front steps out.... we never put the slide out! We run the generator for the microwave if needed and shut it down. We are there only to eat and sleep... not to camp

Having been a OTR driver. I wouldn't suggest overnighting in a reas area. They can get pretty rough at night, and if you are in a MH you can just fire up and leave. But if you are in the trailer, It can be a long dangerous walk to the truck to move out of harms way

Due to the lack of rest areas in California and the fact that many are closed for the foreseeable future, this may be a moot post, but the State of California does not allow ONP in their rest areas. They are intended to provide an area where drivers can relieve themselves and take a break from the road.

That said, the question of how long does one need to rest to be an alert and safe driver comes to the forefront. This is not addressed by the MVC and is up to the interpretation of the LLEOs. For the most part it has been accepted that if you are not "camping", you can stay as long as you need to, be that 15 minutes or 8 hours.

My recommendations is not to spend too much time in one but if you need a couple of hours sleep to be alert and safe driving on the highway, take the time. I don't think you'll be harassed.

Any CHP officers out there that want to comment?

Thanks for that info. I will be heading down that way in a couple weeks, and NC is usually an overnighter for me. I seldom use rest areas for overnighters, but NC does have very nice ones. Might give it a try.