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A truck stop (known as a service station in the United Kingdom, a travel center by major chains in the United States and a roadhouse in rural Australia) is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and food and other services to motorists and truck drivers. Truck stops are usually located on or near a busy road.
The fuel islands at many truck stops can get very crowded. Most trucking companies have accounts with one or two truck stop chains and, after negotiating a specific price for diesel, require their drivers to fuel exclusively at supported locations. Truck stops near a large city, or on the east or west coasts, suffer from the most congestion at their fuel islands.
The retail stores in large truck stops offer a large selection of 12-volt DC products, such as coffee makers, combo television units, , and frying pans primarily targeted towards truck drivers, who often spend extended periods of time on the road. Such shops generally offer a wide selection of maps, , truck stop and freeway exit guides, truck accessories (such as CB radio equipment and hazmat placards), plus entertainment media such as movies, video games, music, and . Increasingly, as interstate truck drivers have become a large market for satellite radio, these retail stores also sell various satellite radio receivers for both XM and Sirius XM as well as subscriptions to those services. Kiosks run by cellular phone providers are also common.
Most long-haul tractors have sleeping berths, and many truck drivers keep their running for heating or cooling for the sake of comfort. Because idling diesel engines make considerable noise (and are a source of pollution) they are often banned from such use near residential areas. Truck stops (along with public Rest area) are the main places where truck drivers may rest peacefully, as required by regulations. Modern innovations, such as truck heaters and auxiliary power units, are becoming more common, and some truck stops now provide power, air conditioning, and communications through systems such as IdleAir. Many truck stops used to have load board monitors for truck drivers to find real time information on loads, jobs, weather and news. However, DAT Solutions, the largest provider of load boards, removed its monitors from thousands of truck stops and moved all its services online and to its load board mobile apps. Most chain truck stops also have Wireless LAN Internet access in their parking areas. Idle reduction—reducing the amount of fuel consumed by truck fleets during idling—is an ongoing economical and environmental effort.
Approximately two-thirds of truck stops are independently owned with the remainder being owned and run by 'Big Oil' brands such as Caltex, BP and Shell.
An Autohof is run by a private company, but the government provides the road signs at the highway, indicating an Autohof, if the facility:
On A roads (major routes which are made to a lower standard compared to motorways), a truck stop may have no refueling facilities but simply offer a place for tired drivers to rest and/or get food and drink in a transport cafe. They may not be signposted well, if at all.
Notable truck stop locations in the UK include:
In the United States in the late 1990s, Truckstops of America (T/A) changed its name to TravelCenters of America to reflect this marketing strategy. There is no exact distinction between "truck stop" and the newer term "travel center", but some differences are size, proximity to interstate highways and major roads, the number of services, accessibility to automotive and RV travelers, and a certain extra emphasis on facility appearance. Many truck stops chains such as Love's, Flying J and T/A also serve the recreational vehicle market. All the national chains have established Loyalty program to promote repeated patronage.
In Louisiana, truck stops that meet certain criteria are allowed to have on-site casinos that can operate up to 50 video poker gaming devices. These truck stops are regulated by the Louisiana Gaming Enforcement Division and must maintain certain amenities to be eligible to keep the lucrative gaming devices operating. Some of the amenities required are: having a certain number of acres of land, having a certain number of 18-wheeler parking spaces, having an on-site restaurant, and having trucker's supplies, showers, telephones, television lounge, scales, laundry services, and fuel.
Truck stops were often depicted in films and novels as being somewhat seedy places, frequented by aggressive bikers, petty criminals, and prostitutes (e.g. the "" in the JT LeRoy novel Sarah). This may be an outdated stereotype, as most modern truck stops are generally clean and safe, becoming a "home away from home" for many truck drivers. However, most truck stops reflect the social environment of their local area; consequently, one occasionally finds seedy truck stops in seedy areas. According to John McPhee's book Uncommon Carriers, truck stops in rural areas are typically very safe and wholesome. However, as the distance to major cities decreases the incidence of prostitution, drug peddling etc. increases dramatically. The Vince Lombardi service area on the New Jersey Turnpike near New York City has the most rampant prostitution. p.87
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