ILLINOIS – On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said a tired bus driver was the primary cause of the deadly Interstate 70 bus crash in Highland, Illinois.

But investigators also found three tractor trailers illegally parked on the shoulder of the exit ramp to the Silver Lake rest area contributed to the crash. According to Rep. Mike Bost (R-Illinois 12th District), it’s part of a larger problem that he says his bipartisan bill can help fix.

“If you collide with one of these trucks that are parked alongside the road or on an off ramp, it doesn’t care if you’re Republican, Democrat, or Independent, you’re going to get hurt anyway,” Bost said.

When it comes to the trucking industry, Bost knows a thing or two, because he’s seen a thing or two.

“I was born and raised in a trucking business. I actually drove my first tractor trailer across a lot at nine years old,” he said.

Bost says he took over the family business for ten years after serving in the Marines. That experience informed the creation of Bost’s Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. The legislation would provide competitive funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation for the construction of new commercial truck parking facilities.

“If there’s not enough parking space available, you’re going to end up being in a very bad situation on an off ramp or somewhere where it’s not safe for you to take that rest,” Bost said.

Earlier this week, the NTSB identified what it called “a critical lack of truck parking availability along the National Highway System” as a factor in the July 2023 Greyhound bus crash. Three passengers were killed, and a dozen others were injured, including the driver, when the bus collided with three tractor trailers parked along the shoulder of an exit ramp near the Silver Lake rest area.

“Staff is proposing a recommendation to the USDOT to pursue available options to increase commercial vehicle parking capacity on highways,” Michael Fox of the NTSB said.

The NTSB cited research done in the creation of Jason’s Law, which showed the quantity of public truck parking spaces has not kept up with increased truck traffic volume. Jason’s Law was enacted in 2012 to address long-term parking shortages for commercial motor vehicles.

“This is a problem that’s been around for a long time and it’s only getting worse,” Thomas Chapman of the NTSB said.

Bost believes his legislation can help make things better.

“I’ve screamed this from a mountaintop for years on how important is that this bill is, so my hope is that all members in the House understand…and the Senate understands it as well,” he said.

Bost’s legislation was approved by the House Transportation Committee last Congress but did not receive a vote in the full House. He tells FOX 2 News he thinks there is a good chance it passes later this summer as part of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill.