The day prior to the Thursday funeral of Jason Rivenburg, the Schoharie County, New York, trucker felled last week by a bullet in an apparent robbery while he was parked off I-26 in South Carolina, a sizable convoy of trucks was escorted by police around the New York state capitol building in Albany. The convoy rolled, according to Albany’s Capital News 9, to highlight the need for safer parking on the nation’s interstates. (Rivenburg was found parked at an abandoned gas station.) Rivenburg’s obituary in the Albany Times newspaper is here.
Under the last highway bill, current through this year, $6.25 million (thanks, TruckerGirl13, who also blogged about this subject here) in annual federal expenditures was set aside for truck parking on the National Highway System. With a new highway bill looming, Rivenburg’s tragic case stands to be a boon to stepped-up effort at providing more plentiful, safer facilities. Meanwhile, state budget troubles have led to plans to cose rest areas in Vermont, Louisiana, Virginia, Arizona and other states.
A petition is circulating pertaining to the need for more and safer parking — you can sign it and read more about Rivenburg’s story here.
Also, a fund to help the Rivenburg family (Jason left behind a son and a wife pregnant with twins)can be contributed to via:
Jason Rivenburg Memorial Fund
c/o Trustco Bank
1900 Altamont Ave.
Rotterdam, NY 12303
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