Trucker personal safety: plan every stop before you make it
Most threats against drivers don't happen at highway speed. They happen when the truck is parked and the driver is sleeping, walking to the restroom, or waiting at a dock.
Written by Rigo Diaz
Crimes against drivers in numbers
Trucker personal safety comes down to the places a truck stops: truck stops, shipper and receiver lots, and fuel islands, where FMCSA's driver survey found most harassment happens. Choose a lit, busy spot for your 10-hour break before you need it, keep the cab locked and strangers out, and know when you may legally move to safety.
Every long-haul trip has hours when the driver is off the road but not off the job: parked for the 10-hour break, crossing a lot at 2 a.m., or waiting outside a receiver's gate. FMCSA's first study of crimes against truck drivers found that harassment and threats are common in exactly those hours, and that about half of the incidents are never reported.
I spent more than six years in risk management before I founded Simplex, and I have led it for more than 25 years since. I treat personal safety like any other loss exposure: know where it happens, decide before you get there, and have a plan for the bad night. This guide is about protecting the driver. Protecting the load is covered in our guide to cargo theft prevention.
The full briefing, read aloud
7 chapters. Select one to jump to it.
Generated with AI text-to-speech from this article's key insights, in order, rather than reading it word for word. Chapter times come from a transcript of the audio. The article itself was written and reviewed by Rigo Diaz.
Key takeaways
The risk sits where trucks stop
In FMCSA's survey, harassment happened most at truck stops, then pickup and delivery sites, then fuel stations, and more in cities than in rural areas.
Pick the break spot before the day starts
You need 10 consecutive hours off before driving again. Choose a lit, busy place and a backup while you still have hours to reach them.
Keep the cab yours
Lock up whenever you leave or sleep, keep valuables out of sight, and carry no rider without your carrier's written authorization.
You can move to safety
After loading or unloading, the drive to the nearest reasonable, safe place to rest can be logged as personal conveyance, and so can a move a safety official asks for.
Report it, even when it feels pointless
Call 911 first, then your carrier. Drivers in FMCSA's survey skipped reports mostly because they doubted it would help, which keeps the problem invisible.
In this articleContents
Where are truck drivers most at risk?
Truck drivers are most at risk where the truck stops. In FMCSA's Crime Prevention for Truckers Study, harassment happened most often at truck stops (23 to 30 percent of incidents, depending on the group), then at pickup and delivery sites (15 to 17 percent), then at fuel stations (9 to 11 percent).
The study defined harassment broadly: a threat of harm, or actual harm, to the driver, their belongings, the truck, or the cargo. It surveyed 653 drivers about the two years before they answered.
- What happened: being called offensive names (51 to 59 percent) and threatening words (38 to 44 percent) were the most common.
- Where: respondents put urban areas (42 to 56 percent) ahead of rural ones (26 to 35 percent).
- Who: most often another truck driver the victim didn't know.
- Women drivers: 33 percent reported sexual harassment, against 8 to 14 percent of men, and incidents against women were most likely between midnight and 6 a.m.
How do you choose a safe place to stop for the night?
Choose it before the day starts, while you still have hours to reach it. Under 49 CFR 395.3 you may drive up to 11 hours within a 14-hour window, then need 10 consecutive hours off before you drive again, so the break location is a decision you can make at breakfast.
- Lit and busy beats quiet. Drivers in the study asked for better lighting, security, and patrols at lots, fuel stations, and docks; pick places that already have them.
- Short walk to the building. A spot near the entrance means less time crossing a dark lot.
- Room to pull straight out. If you have to leave in a hurry, you don't want to be backing.
- A backup within your hours. If the first lot is full, the second choice should be planned, not a ramp or a shoulder.
- Arrive with time to spare. Pulling in with minutes left on the clock is how drivers end up in the lot nobody else wanted.
Survey respondents tied many crimes directly to the parking shortage, with drivers forced onto freeway ramps and abandoned lots. Our guide to things truckers need on the road covers how scarce truck parking is and how to build it into the driving day.
How do you secure the cab and yourself at a stop?
Treat the cab like your front door: locked whenever you step away or lie down, with nothing on display that invites a second look.
- Lock every time. Doors locked and windows up when you sleep, fuel, or walk in, even for two minutes.
- Close the curtains. Nobody outside should be able to tell whether you're inside or what you carry.
- Hide valuables. Phones, laptops, wallets, and cash go out of sight before you park.
- Don't open the door to strangers. Talk through a cracked window if you must, and call the facility or police if someone won't leave.
- Keep your plans to yourself. Don't share your route, your load, or where you'll sleep on the CB, social media, or with people you just met.
- Walk with a plan. Phone charged, a flashlight at night, the lit path, and a quick message to someone when you leave the truck and when you're back.
Keeping strangers out is also a federal rule. Under 49 CFR 392.60, you may not carry anyone in a truck without your carrier's written authorization naming the person, the trip, and an expiration date, except people the carrier assigns, someone you're helping after an accident or other emergency, or a livestock attendant.
Can you move your truck to stay safe when you're out of hours?
Yes, in two situations FMCSA names. Its personal conveyance guidance lets you log as off duty the drive to a nearby, reasonable, safe place to rest after loading or unloading, and a move a safety official asks you to make during your off-duty time.
When a shipper or receiver sends you away
When FMCSA adopted the guidance in 2018, it said this move counts as personal conveyance even if you have used up your hours, as long as you are moving only to get your required rest at a safe place. The rest stop must be the first one reasonably available, with enough time left to take the full break. If you can't park at the nearest spot, FMCSA recommends noting on your log why you went to another.
Two limits matter. Bypassing open rest spots to get closer to your next pickup is not personal conveyance. And your carrier may restrict or ban personal conveyance, so learn its policy before the night you need it.
When the spot you're in turns unsafe
FMCSA's examples don't name this case. If you feel threatened, leave anyway: your safety comes before the log. Then record the move as it happened, add a note explaining why, and tell your carrier. A short move to the nearest safe place, documented that night, fits the guidance's personal-use test far better than a move toward your next load.
Federal law also protects a driver who refuses to operate because of a reasonable fear of serious injury from the vehicle's hazardous safety or security condition, after first asking the employer to fix it, under 49 U.S.C. 31105. That includes owner-operators personally driving. Our guide to reporting a DOT violation explains coercion and retaliation complaints.
What should you do if you're threatened or harassed?
Get somewhere safe, call 911, and then call your carrier, in that order. Dispatch can help with the trip, but only police can respond to a threat.
- Get inside and lock up, or drive away if staying is the bigger risk.
- Call 911 with your location, a description of the person or vehicle, and what happened.
- Tell your carrier so it can change the plan and record the incident.
- Write it down the same day: time, place, names, plate numbers, and witnesses.
- Ask the facility to keep its camera footage before it's recorded over.
Report even when it feels pointless. In the study, 42 percent of women, 57 percent of minority men, and 51 percent of non-minority men said they didn't report what happened, most often because they didn't think it would make a difference. Unreported incidents never reach the people who decide where lighting, patrols, and parking go.
If you're hurt, check before you need it which policy pays. Employee drivers usually fall under state workers' compensation; owner-operators often rely on occupational accident coverage, and whether an assault on a break counts depends on the policy wording. Our guide to health insurance for owner-operators explains how those policies differ.
What can a carrier do to protect its drivers?
A carrier controls the things that push drivers into bad spots: appointment times, parking plans, and policies. Survey respondents said delays and scheduling conflicts at shippers and receivers force drivers to park in unsafe places.
- Plan the break location at dispatch, with a backup, and adjust it when a dock runs late.
- Write a personal conveyance policy that says how drivers log a move for safety, so nobody hesitates to leave.
- Train for personal safety. Many respondents said they had never received any personal safety training.
- Put harassment rules in writing, with a way to report outside the driver's normal chain. Women in the study were more likely than men to be harassed by a driver at their own company (15 percent) or a trainer (11 percent).
- Respond the same way every time a driver reports a threat, so the next one also reports.
Our compliance programs include assigned driver trainings and, in the Managed Program, written policies. For the recruiting side of the same problem, see our guide to women truck drivers.
How Simplex helps keep drivers safe off the road
Personal safety depends on written policies, trained drivers, logs that hold up, and coverage that fits. We help with each.
Policies and assigned trainings
Our compliance programs include assigned driver trainings with reminders and, in the Managed Program, written policies and monthly safety reviews.
Hours of service that hold up
Our DOT safety compliance team supports hours of service and ELD records, so a move made for safety is logged correctly.
Coverage for the owner-operator
Our insurance team can review owner-operator coverage so you know which policy responds when the driver, not the truck, gets hurt.
Frequently asked questions
Where are truck drivers most likely to be harassed?+
Can I move my truck if I feel unsafe during my 10-hour break?+
Can a shipper make me leave if I'm out of hours?+
Can someone ride with me for safety?+
Can truck drivers carry a gun for personal safety?+
Where this information comes from
The findings and rules below come from FMCSA's research and guidance, the Federal Register, federal regulation, and federal statute, checked on October 20, 2026.
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1
FMCSA — Crime Prevention for Truckers Study
FMCSA's first study of crimes against truck drivers, and its note on the study's limitations.
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2
National Transportation Library — Crime Prevention for Truckers Study, final report (FMCSA-RRT-22-002)
Survey of 653 drivers: types, locations, and timing of harassment, unreported incidents, and drivers' suggestions.
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3
Federal Register — Study of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in the CMV Industry (February 8, 2024)
FMCSA's plan for a broader study, and its summary of the earlier findings.
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4
FMCSA — Personal Conveyance
Current guidance: moving to a safe place to rest, moves requested by safety officials, and carrier limits.
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5
Federal Register — Personal Conveyance Regulatory Guidance (June 7, 2018)
Moving from a shipper or receiver to rest qualifies even when hours are used up; annotate a different stop.
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6
eCFR — 49 CFR 395.3
10 consecutive hours off, the 14-hour window, and the 11-hour driving limit.
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7
eCFR — 49 CFR 392.60
No passengers without the carrier's written authorization, and the exceptions.
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8
GovInfo — 49 U.S.C. 31105 (with 31101 definitions)
Protection for drivers, including owner-operators, who refuse to operate over a hazardous safety or security condition.
Written by
Rigo Diaz
Founder & CEO, Simplex Group
Founder and CEO of Simplex Group, with more than 25 years leading the company and helping trucking entrepreneurs navigate compliance, insurance, and the day-to-day demands of running a carrier. Before founding Simplex, he spent more than six years in risk management, experience that continues to shape how he approaches insurance, compliance, and carrier risk today.
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The safest stop is the one you chose this morning
Pick tonight's parking spot and a backup now, check your carrier's personal conveyance policy, and decide what you'll do if the spot turns bad. Those three choices cover most of the risk.
If you want help putting personal safety policies, driver training, and the right coverage in place, talk to our team.