Fuel for Thought

Closed!

By Dale
Posted Oct 21st 2009 3:31PM

           Today I had a run over to the state of Maryland.  Very nice run, decent load made the van ride nice.  This run was interstate all the way, so no little roads or hard to find addresses to deal with!  On the way tho, I saw another in a disturbing trend all around the US.  To save money, states are closing rest areas.  To the average driver, this may not make much of a difference, but to professional drivers, each closed rest area is a few more drivers who must drive on tired, or risk getting a ticket for parking on the shoulder.

           Yes, with proper trip planning, many times this can be avoided... but what about the guy who was thru here last month, or last week, and that rest area was open? He DID plan ahead, and planned to stop there... but when he gets there... the dreaded orange barrels and banner reading "Closed".. So, he drives on, trying to find a place to rest.   So the road has another tired driver, risking  his own life, and the lives of others.... but hey, the state saved some money!