WASHINGTON – Legislation that would require retailers, distribution centers, marine terminals and other businesses to open their bathrooms to truck drivers picking up or dropping off freight has been reintroduced in Congress.
The Trucker Bathroom Access Act, introduced on Tuesday by U.S. Reps. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Penn., would give truckers the same access to bathrooms that a business provides to customers or employees.
Similar legislation was introduced but failed to gain traction in previous sessions of Congress.
Both large carriers and owner-operators have lobbied for the legislation as a way to improve driver working conditions and as an incentive to help recruit and retain female truck drivers.
“As a professional truck driver, I understand the daily challenges drivers face in accessing clean and safe restrooms,” said Sharae Moore, founder and CEO of She Trucking, in a press release.
“Time-sensitive loads, heavy traffic, unpredictable weather, and limited truck parking often make it nearly impossible for drivers to find necessary restroom facilities when they need them. The Trucker Bathroom Access Act is a vital step toward ensuring that all truck drivers, especially women, have access to restrooms while on the road.”
Restroom access requirements at seaports for drayage truckers are outlined in a separate section of the bill. It states that marine terminal operators – and port authorities, if they directly operate the terminal – must provide:
- Access to existing restrooms while covered drayage truck operators are on port property and when access does not pose an obvious safety risk to the truck operators and other employees of the terminal operator in the area.
- Additional restrooms, if necessary, at locations where there is the most need.
- A place for covered drayage truck operators to park vehicles while accessing the restrooms.
The legislation is based on a similar proposal signed into law in Washington state in 2022 that applies only to drayage truckers and marine terminals.
