The short answer
Women professional drivers do not need a separate version of trucking infrastructure.
They need parking environments that account for the realities of the people using them.
Research from the American Transportation Research Institute has identified limited truck parking and restroom access among the challenges affecting women drivers, while Women In Trucking research has documented personal-safety concerns around truck stops and rest areas.
That makes parking design a workforce issue as well as an infrastructure issue.
Women are already doing the job.
This resource is not built on the idea that women are too vulnerable for trucking.
Women drive long-haul, regional, local, private-fleet and owner-operator operations across the country.
They manage the same traffic. The same freight. The same weather. The same delivery pressure. The same Hours of Service.
The point is simpler:
A parking environment can create different practical concerns depending on who is using it.
Ignoring that does not make the environment more equal.
It just means the design did not ask enough questions.
THE EVIDENCE
Parking and restroom access are documented women-driver challenges.
In 2024, the American Transportation Research Institute released research focused specifically on challenges affecting women truck drivers.
ATRI's 2024 women-driver research identified six broad challenge areas, including:
- Negative industry image and perception
- Difficulty completing driver training
- Unsatisfactory carrier culture
- Difficulty acclimating to the over-the-road lifestyle
- Limited parking and restroom facility access
- Gender harassment and discrimination
The research drew on surveys, interviews and a women-driver focus group, with input from truck drivers, motor carriers and truck-driver training schools.
That is an important distinction.
Truck parking is not being presented here as the only challenge women face in trucking.
It is one documented part of a much larger work environment.
The parking environment matters because drivers have to move through it.
Women In Trucking's driver safety research asked women professional drivers about safety and harassment concerns across the industry.
Among respondents to Women In Trucking's 2021 survey, truck stops and rest areas were frequently identified as locations where women perceived safety threats.
Those findings reflect the survey respondents. They should not be generalized to every woman driver or every truck stop.
A parking spot is not the entire environment.
Imagine two locations with an open truck space.
On paper, both solve the same problem.
But a driver may still be thinking about:
- How far the truck is from the restroom
- Whether the path is visible at night
- What activity is happening around the lot
- Whether the driver has to cross moving truck traffic
- Whether basic facilities are open and accessible
- Whether the restroom or shower feels private and maintained
- Whether the driver can return to the truck without navigating an isolated area
Those details do not appear in a parking-space count.
They still shape the experience.
What can make a parking environment more workable?
These are planning questions, not claims about confirmed ALL SET facility features.
| Consideration | The practical question |
|---|---|
| Parking availability | Can the driver find an appropriate space without an extended search? |
| Walking distance | How far does the driver need to move between the truck and basic facilities? |
| Visibility | Can the driver clearly see the route between the truck and where they need to go? |
| Lighting | Is the area usable after dark without creating obvious blind or poorly lit zones? |
| Restroom access | Are clean, functioning facilities realistically available during the off-duty period? |
| Privacy | Do restroom, shower and changing environments allow a reasonable level of personal privacy? |
| Cleanliness | Does the facility feel maintained and usable? |
| Activity and oversight | Does the parking environment feel active, observable and professionally managed? |
| Movement | Is there a reasonable way to get out of the cab and move without walking through unsafe truck traffic? |
| Longer rest periods | Would the location remain workable if the driver spends substantially more than a short break there? |
DRIVER PERSPECTIVE
WOMAN TRUCK DRIVERS NEED SAFE AND SECURE PARKING
Parking quality is not only about whether a tractor and trailer fit. The environment around the truck also shapes how a driver can use the hours after parking.
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THE BASICS
A restroom should not be the hardest part of the stop.
Restroom access sounds basic because it is basic.
That is exactly why the problem matters.
For a driver whose workplace moves hundreds of miles a day, access to a clean restroom depends on the infrastructure available along the route.
ATRI specifically identified limited parking and restroom facility access as one of the challenge areas affecting women drivers.
That issue can become even more practical during overnight periods, longer off-duty time and locations where drivers have limited alternatives nearby.
The standard should not be extravagant.
It should be usable.
Off-duty time includes private parts of daily life.
Drivers may be:
- Changing clothes
- Showering
- Using a restroom
- Sleeping
- Preparing for the next day
- Managing personal health needs
- Simply trying to be alone
Those are ordinary parts of life.
A driver-first parking environment should understand that off-duty time involves more than sitting in a truck until the next dispatch.
Privacy is not a luxury feature.
It is part of whether facilities work for the people using them.
Good visibility helps. It does not create a zero-risk environment.
Parking discussions often reduce safety to a checklist: lights, cameras, fences and gates.
Real-world risk is more complicated than that.
Good lighting and clear sightlines can make an environment easier to navigate.
But no individual design element can guarantee personal safety.
ALL SET should never make that promise.
A stronger approach is to ask whether the overall environment:
- Is easy to understand
- Avoids unnecessary isolated areas
- Provides clear walking routes
- Keeps basic facilities accessible
- Supports professional site management
- Allows drivers to make informed choices about where they stop
The distance between the truck and the restroom matters more at 2 a.m.
A 300-foot walk across a busy parking area may feel very different in daylight than it does after midnight.
That does not mean the answer is: “Women should stay in the truck.”
The better question is:
How can the parking environment reduce unnecessary friction around basic movement?
That may involve thinking about parking layout, pedestrian paths, visibility, lighting, truck circulation, proximity to facilities and how drivers move between them.
Parking design is partly traffic design.
It is also human design.
THE WHOLE DRIVER
Drivers need somewhere to move too.
Long-haul trucking is sedentary work.
NIOSH's long-haul truck-driver guidance documents low physical activity among long-haul drivers and notes that truck-stop environments may lack appropriate places to walk or exercise.
That issue affects drivers of every gender.
But it reinforces the larger point:
Parking infrastructure should consider what happens during the hours when the driver is not moving freight.
Sometimes the need is not a gym.
It is simply a practical place to walk, stretch and get out of the seat.
A parking location can become a driver's bedroom for the night.
Long-haul drivers often sleep away from home.
NIOSH identifies irregular schedules, long hours, limited physical activity, stress and extended time away from family as part of the long-haul work environment.
For women truck drivers specifically, 2024 research on women truck drivers' sleep and health found poor sleep quality among the women in its study.
This was a small study of 25 women truck drivers. Its findings should not be generalized to all women drivers.
It does reinforce why the place where a driver spends the off-duty period matters.
A parking lot is not literally a bedroom.
But for a driver sleeping in the cab, it becomes the environment surrounding one.
THE DRIVER RESET
The same idea applies to every driver. Women make some of the blind spots easier to see.
ALL SET calls its driver-first approach The Driver Reset.
The concept considers what drivers still need after the truck is parked:
- Rest
- Food
- Hygiene
- Movement
- Privacy
- Connection
- Preparation for tomorrow
These needs are not female needs.
They are driver needs.
But women drivers can reveal gaps in infrastructure that may otherwise be dismissed as minor details.
A better restroom helps everyone. Clearer walking routes help everyone. Clean facilities help everyone. Thoughtful lighting helps everyone. Privacy helps everyone.
Designing with women in mind does not narrow the audience. It can raise the standard for the entire parking environment.
FOR FLEETS
Ask women drivers what they experience. Do not guess for them.
A fleet does not need a complicated women's parking policy to start learning.
It can ask drivers:
- Which parking locations do you avoid?
- Why?
- Where are restrooms difficult to access?
- Which stops feel poorly maintained?
- Are there recurring routes where parking becomes a problem?
- Are there places drivers prefer even if they are less convenient?
- What would make an overnight stop more workable?
Those answers can reveal operational details that parking maps alone do not show.
Questions a driver can ask before choosing an overnight stop
- Is this a designated place where my truck can reasonably park?
- How far will I need to walk to basic facilities?
- Is the route between the truck and facilities easy to see?
- Are restrooms open and accessible when I need them?
- Does the area appear maintained?
- Is there enough activity or visibility for me to understand the environment?
- Can I take care of basic hygiene without unnecessary difficulty?
- If I am staying for a longer off-duty period, will this location still work?
- Do I have a backup if this location is full?
- Have other drivers I trust shared useful information about the stop?
No checklist can eliminate risk.
Drivers still have to use judgment based on actual conditions.
FROM RESEARCH TO DESIGN
These questions belong at the beginning of the project, not the end.
ALL SET is still planning its first truck park.
That is precisely why this is the right time to listen.
The company should not wait until a facility exists to ask women drivers: “Would this have worked better another way?”
Parking layout. Walking distance. Restroom access. Privacy. Cleanliness. Movement. The surrounding environment.
These are design questions now.
They should not become complaints later.
The first truck park is Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi, Texas is ALL SET Truck Park's first truck park.
As planning continues, ALL SET wants parking-demand input from the drivers who actually operate in the region, including women professional drivers.
If Corpus Christi is part of your route, tell us what parking is like from your perspective.
FAQs
Why is truck parking an important issue for women drivers?
Women drivers face the same national truck-parking shortage as other professional drivers, but research has also identified limited parking and restroom access among the challenges affecting women in trucking. The parking environment can therefore matter for both availability and practical usability.
What should women drivers consider when choosing overnight truck parking?
Practical considerations can include whether the parking is designated and appropriate for the truck, walking distance to facilities, visibility, lighting, restroom access, cleanliness, privacy, surrounding activity and whether the location works for the length of the planned off-duty period.
Are truck stops unsafe for women drivers?
Risk varies by location and circumstance, so it would be inaccurate to label every truck stop or rest area unsafe. Women In Trucking research has documented meaningful safety concerns among women driver survey respondents, which is why parking environments should take visibility, access, privacy and overall site conditions seriously.
Does better lighting guarantee driver safety?
No. Lighting and visibility can make an environment easier to navigate, but no individual design feature or parking facility can guarantee that a driver will never experience a safety or security incident.
Why does restroom access matter so much for women truck drivers?
Professional drivers spend long periods away from home and depend on roadside facilities for basic daily needs. ATRI's women-driver research identified limited parking and restroom facility access as one of the challenges affecting women truck drivers.
How can women drivers tell ALL SET what they need from truck parking?
Use ALL SET's parking-interest form to share where parking is difficult, which markets matter, how often the issue occurs and any practical details about the parking experience that ALL SET should understand while planning future locations.
YOUR EXPERIENCE IS DATA
If a parking location does not work for you, tell us why.
ALL SET is collecting parking-interest information from professional drivers, owner-operators and fleets.
We want to understand where parking is difficult and what drivers encounter when they finally find a place to stop.
Sharing parking interest does not create a reservation or guarantee future parking availability.