Gee & Ursula: Truck drivers deserve to use the restroom at businesses where they deliver

Lawmakers in Olympia are considering a bill that would expand restroom access for truck drivers.

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Some of these drivers, including Ryan Johnson, testified at a recent hearing, and shared that finding a facility can be next to impossible. To solve this issue, House Bill 1706 would require retail businesses to allow truck drivers and delivery drivers to use the restrooms, and would require the Port of Seattle to add adequate facilities.

“I’ll start with the ports. There is no port in Seattle that has more bathrooms for truck drivers than the cell phone lot of Sea-Tac. Most of them only have one or two,” Johnson told KIRO Newsradio’s Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin Show. “So when you see trucks lined up all the way across the West Seattle Bridge to I-5, there are a total of four bathrooms in that port for all of those people.”

“The ports are the only place in Washington state where you can have that many people and no bathrooms,” he added. “You can’t do that at a concert. … There are remodel permits for your home that require porta-potties for one or two people.”

His main ask is just to be able to use the bathrooms where he’s already been working for hours.

“I can go to a business — I can spend three, four, five hours in your dock, stocking shelves, so I’ve already been in there forever. All I want is to use their bathroom,” he explained. “And I want the proper number of bathrooms installed in the ports based on the booking numbers for the port. The booking number is the number you need to get a container in and out. That’s it.”

To clarify, the bill would require retail businesses to allow drivers to use the bathrooms if they are delivering there, not just any and all retail bathrooms.

Ursula says it makes perfect sense to her that drivers should be allowed to use the bathroom of a business where they have already been.

Gee had been against it when it was discussed on the show before, but says Johnson did a great job at explaining the ask.

“I want all truckers out there to know: I am on your side to use the restroom,” he said, adding that he also supports Johnson’s demand for the port to add more restrooms.

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There has recently been a nationwide shortage of truck drivers, and one of the reasons for that is the working conditions — so this doesn’t help.

“It’s not the highest paid profession,” Johnson said. “The schedule sucks, it’s horrible.”

“And you can’t even go to the bathroom,” Ursula said.

“Can’t even use the bathroom,” Johnson agreed. “If you’re driving down I-5 and you see all those bottles on the side of the road that look like they’re filled with tea or lemonade. That’s not tea or lemonade.”

Listen to Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.