We Really Need To Sleep by the Side of the road.

[raymondelden]

Dear Development,
Every where in America, I've seen hundreds of trucks parked on road shoulders on highways. The drivers are sleeping. It is legal for truckers to do this as long as they do not tie up traffic. I know that most of you have never driven American roads, so you really should listen to American drivers and allow us to do the same in this game.
Respecfully yours, Raymond

[UniBaLL]

lol, do you mean rest stops?

Highways generally do not have large shoulders, certainly not wide enough for trucks to get completely out of the traffic lane. Freeways generally have larger/wider shoulders, but are only for emergency use. Parking and sleeping on the shoulder of highways & freeways is a serous safety hazard. Hence, not allowed. Only emergency parking is allowed.

I have no idea where or why you are posting that hundreds of trucks are parked on road shoulders drivers sleeping. On Freeways might be able to get completely out of the right lane, but highways there certainly is not enough room to get completely out of the lane. Freeways will have four or more lanes, two per direction minimum. While highways usually have 2 lanes one per direction, while in some circumstances have an additional lane for for some circumstances like hill and or intersections to provide more safety.

Not to mention that on some highways trucks will not travel on due to low bridge heights, weight limits etc.

This must be some kind of troll, or the OP is confused as to what a highway or freeway shoulder is, or a Highway & Freeway for that matter.

[Sandhill]

Originally posted by raymondelden:

Dear Development,
Every where in America, I've seen hundreds of trucks parked on road shoulders on highways. The drivers are sleeping. It is legal for truckers to do this as long as they do not tie up traffic. I know that most of you have never driven American roads, so you really should listen to American drivers and allow us to do the same in this game.
Respecfully yours, Raymond

I agree with Kleetus, this stinks of TROLL as it is so much a lie seemingly intended to stimulate argument.
This is a game. In order to make games satisfying, certain difficulties or challenges are made available. Planning the rest stops on your route is such a game element in both ATS and ETS2. The idea is to make the game fun for those that want to entertain that challenge..
If you want to park anywhere and pretend that you have rested, just turn off fatigue, as that is the already available option that does just what you are asking for, no need to deal with the difficulty of trip planning. That dumbing down of the game makes it less interesting to me, but its your game to enjoy as you'd like. Have fun!

[raymondelden]

I did not mean to upset any one with my post. I merely wanted to post my observations whilst driving the highways as part of my past career. (i retired last year.)

[UniBaLL]

Originally posted by raymondelden:

I did not mean to upset any one with my post. I merely wanted to post my observations whilst driving the highways as part of my past career. (i retired last year.)

You certainly were not driving heavy loads and or taller trucks trailers on highways, as many, especially those older ones in the eastern US. Because of low bridges, and or weight limits.

Your use of "whilst" smells of someone other than American. Americans do not use that verbiage. While some of the youngest generation is starting to use that verbiage, the older generations certainly do not.

[UniBaLL]

Here is an example of one of the most famous bridges when it comes to trucks. Older highways were not designed for modern trucks. Hence trucks generally stick to the Freeways and are very careful when not on a Freeway.

http://11foot8.com/

[DragonIV]

Originally posted by Kleetus:

Originally posted by raymondelden:

I did not mean to upset any one with my post. I merely wanted to post my observations whilst driving the highways as part of my past career. (i retired last year.)

You certainly were not driving heavy loads and or taller trucks trailers on highways, as many, especially those older ones in the eastern US. Because of low bridges, and or weight limits.

Your use of "whilst" smells of someone other than American. Americans do not use that verbiage. While some of the youngest generation is starting to use that verbiage, the older generations certainly do not.

Let's start with whilst. It is true that it is not spoken in US english, but we are writing here, not speaking. The written word often differs, and you will see whilst used especially if you read a lot. Jumping to the conclusion that the OP is not speaking as an American based on his usage of whilst is....a stretch.

As for parking on the shoulders of highways...first off, I won't claim that I am a trucker, but I have driven in many of the bigger metro areas of the USA over the years, as my job does have me travelling a lot. Trucks parking on highways? It happens, but varies from state to state. If memory serves, I usually saw this in CA and NY the most (also spent the most time in those two states). Only generally saw them in the evenings, and trucks sitting on the shoulders with their parking lights on at night are not wasting delivery time--their drivers are taking there legally mandated break. It's no secret that most nights in most locations there are more trucks in need of a parking location than there available at truck stops.

That said, this is a game convention, OP (Raymond). I'll suggest to you to do what I do when playing: turn off fatigue simulation, and just make a habit to sleep the same time of day. I tend to run 8am - 10pm in game, and if I can't find a station to stop at and I run late, that just means I do less driving the next day to get back on schedule.

[Cop Unit 12]

Originally posted by raymondelden:

Dear Development,
snip It is legal for truckers to do this as long as they do not tie up traffic.snip

This is mostly a myth. loki poki, DOT and Smokey bears know the DOT hour regulations, highway shutdowns, crashes and many other variables can make trucks have to stop and park on the side of the road for the 10 hour break. But "emergency stopping only" signs exist for a reason and "YOU" yes "YOU" messing up "your time tables" is not a good "excuse" to do that. Some states and locations you WILL be fined for illegal parking if you pull over on the side of the highway because your time ran out or even state road closure New Jersey being a great example (my instructor twice had to stop on the highway and got ticketed twice. Once because a rest stop was full and the other because of a blizzard, ps stay out of NJ). But other states like Nevada where there is no traffic / people you can get away with it because it's of minor concern and as long as your gone 11 hours after they see you your fine. But under most states "official rules" your not allowed to pull over on the side of the highway and sleep for 10 hours unless your waiting for a recovery- maintenance vehicle.

[Catratio]

I often see trucks parked on the sides of freeway on-ramps where I live. Maybe "often" isn't the right word since I'm rarely out at night, but at least when I am I'd say it's not uncommon to see this. I always wondered about the legality of that. Sometimes I'll see them parked on the on-ramps even though there's a truck stop near by.

[Cop Unit 12]

Originally posted by Catratio:

I often see trucks parked on the sides of freeway on-ramps where I live. Maybe "often" isn't the right word since I'm rarely out at night, but at least when I am I'd say it's not uncommon to see this. I always wondered about the legality of that. Sometimes I'll see them parked on the on-ramps even though there's a truck stop near by.

Sometimes there full because most truck drivers drive at the same times so they fill up quick.

[SilvermistInc]

Originally posted by Catratio:

I often see trucks parked on the sides of freeway on-ramps where I live. Maybe "often" isn't the right word since I'm rarely out at night, but at least when I am I'd say it's not uncommon to see this. I always wondered about the legality of that. Sometimes I'll see them parked on the on-ramps even though there's a truck stop near by.

Yeah it's common as hell for trucks to be pulled over on the highway at night here in Utah. You won't see it on I-15 in the urban areas. But say route 189 through Provo Canyon? Truckers are often pulled over on the shoulder taking a nap.

[Numenorean]

I live in US, I see no trucks on the road, unless it is a rest stop or an area for rest. Considering how many homeless people are here, the cops are always patrolling to be sure that nobody park their vehicle somewhere on the public road and stay there, unless it is an emergency.

There is also the safety reason for not parking on the side of any road; in a rest stop you are protected pretty much most of the time, and safe.

Although I agree that would be nice to take the risk and sleep somewhere on the road. It happens in some areas (US is a big place), where there is enough space on the shoulder. It could be interesting to let the player decide to take the risk of a ticket for resting on a shoulder, versus continue to drive even if you start to get the fine for driving over the permitted shift.

[SilvermistInc]

Originally posted by Numenorean:

I live in US, I see no trucks on the road, unless it is a rest stop or an area for rest. Considering how many homeless people are here, the cops are always patrolling to be sure that nobody park their vehicle somewhere on the public road and stay there, unless it is an emergency.

There is also the safety reason for not parking on the side of any road; in a rest stop you are protected pretty much most of the time, and safe.

Although I agree that would be nice to take the risk and sleep somewhere on the road. It happens in some areas (US is a big place), where there is enough space on the shoulder. It could be interesting to let the player decide to take the risk of a ticket for resting on a shoulder, versus continue to drive even if you start to get the fine for driving over the permitted shift.

The theme I've been seeing is that in heavily urbanized areas, rest stops are the go-to. But when you're in the middle of nowhere, pulling onto the side of the road is perfectly acceptable.

[dbwhip42]

Meanwhile,
...I am in for a "rest stop" tweak as well. Rest management lacks the tools to manage long trips. If I have 4 hours to mandatory rest, how far away is the next rest stop? I am thinking some kind of scale on the map rather than using mark one eyeball. User generated rest area does not have to be universal, there are plenty of pull overs and lots in the game that could be used. But a management tool is lacking given the penalty (grey outs and fines) that come with mismanagement.

[Wolfgang]

Originally posted by dbwhip42:

Meanwhile,
...I am in for a "rest stop" tweak as well. Rest management lacks the tools to manage long trips. If I have 4 hours to mandatory rest, how far away is the next rest stop? I am thinking some kind of scale on the map rather than using mark one eyeball. User generated rest area does not have to be universal, there are plenty of pull overs and lots in the game that could be used. But a management tool is lacking given the penalty (grey outs and fines) that come with mismanagement.

Already in the game. When you set a waypoint (or pin, or marker) on the map it will tell you how far it is to that waypoint and how long it will take. So you can already plan ahead for that.

[dbwhip42]

Originally posted by Wolfgang:

Already in the game. When you set a waypoint (or pin, or marker) on the map it will tell you how far it is to that waypoint and how long it will take. So you can already plan ahead for that.

Great Tip! I was not aware of that.

Post Script: Well There Ya go, just tried it and it works great...never noticed before that way points data plate gives total trip AND way point time and distance....problem solved, Thanks again.