Truck drivers trying to keep things rolling

With grocery store shelves emptying soon after they’re restocked and with a premium placed on medical supplies, truck drivers are among the workers deemed essential as the country copes with the coronavirus epidemic.

“If you ever had any question about the (essential nature) of the (trucking) industry, you shouldn’t now,” Greg Fulton, president of the Colorado Motor Carriers Association, said Wednesday.

“Truck drivers are keeping us going,” Fulton added. “They’re the thin line keeping us together right now in terms of goods and services.”

To keep the line from snapping, truck stops across the country are staying open, according to a statement by the National Association of Truck Stop Owners. The businesses are considered part of the nation’s critical infrastructure workforce under a federal guidance issued March 19.

“Fuel retailers are ‘essential’ businesses that must remain open even if other ‘nonessential’ businesses are forced to close,” said Lisa Mullings, CEO and president of the truck stop owners’ organization.

However, Fulton said truck stops have had to make some changes to meet local restrictions imposed since the start of the outbreak.

Truck stops aren’t offering dine-in eating.

“They are providing takeout and are providing shower facilities to try to accommodate drivers, which we greatly appreciate,” Fulton said.

Despite the federal guidelines, some local jurisdictions have imposed restrictions on truck stops that go beyond the Centers for Disease Control recommendations, Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman, spokeswoman for the truck stop owners’ association, said in an email.

The association is putting together information on its concerns.

One issue is being able to find places between truck stops to get food, Fulton said. Many places have takeout or drive-thru service. “We can’t do drive-thru because we don’t fit,” Fulton said.

Drivers and associations are talking to restaurants about allowing people to walk up to a window to order or arrange to pick up on a call-in order.

Fulton has also heard complaints from drivers about rest stops being closed.

In Colorado, two rest stops along Interstate 25 and about 9 miles from Pueblo were closed because of health concerns because they don’t have running water, said Matt Inzeo, Colorado Department of Transportation spokesman. “All the others are stocked and remain open per normal hours,” Inzeo said.

The gates at the closed rest stops have been shut to block access to the parking lots. While the Colorado State Patrol said troopers generally won’t ticket a driver who pulls off the road to get some sleep, they discourage parking along the interstate.

“You can pull over on the side of a road as long as you’re not a danger,” said Master Trooper Gary Cutler. “I’d rather have them do that than have them fall asleep” behind the wheel.