Idahoans Urged to “DO NOT STOP” At These 6 Risky Truck Stops

🚗 With many schools about to go on Spring Break, Idaho families are getting ready for road trip season

🚗 Two Idaho truck stops appeared on a recent "Best Of" list

🚗 Several truck stops families may encounter while driving to Salt Lake, Seattle or Portland appeared on a "Most Dangerous List"

January felt like it was 84 days long. February flew by and just like that, Idaho families are knocking on the door of Spring Break. With a week of little to no responsibilities when it comes to school work and extracurriculars, many families will choose to pack up the car for a road trip! 

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All of the major school districts in the Treasure Valley are on Spring Break at the same time this year: March 17-21. Dates vary in other places across the state. Some schools, like the Moscow School District, will do Spring Break as early as March 10-14. Others, like the Lewiston School District will start Spring Break as late as March 31. 

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There are a lot of fun destinations that are a reasonable road trip: Seattle, Portland, the Oregon Coast, Salt Lake City (Lagoon opens March 22)...but when you’re spending 5-10 hours in the car with kids you know what’s going to happen, right? One of your passengers is going to beg you to stop for a potty break.

Experts say that there are some truck stops that are basically paradise and others that you should totally avoid for safety reasons. Depending on your final destination, you may encounter both on your trip. 

Idaho is Home To Several of the Greatest Truck Stops in America

Earlier this year, Trucker Path, a mobile app designed to help truck drivers find resources while they’re on the road, released a list of the best truck stops in America as ranked by their over one million users. Wouldn’t you know it? Two Idaho truck stops appeared on the Top 100 list that mixed both independent and chain truck stops. 

Roady’s Mr. Gas in Jerome popped into the list at #46. 

Being middle of the pack is pretty good, but it was the Flying J Travel Center #1403 in Idaho Falls that really performed! They ranked as the #3 chain truck stop in the nation and #7 on the overall list. 

Several Regional Truck Stops Appear on List of America’s “Most Dangerous Truck Stops”

Trucking 101 has shared a list of truck stops that have been known to have safety issues. They published the list in order to help keep truckers and travelers safe while they’re on the road. While no Idaho stops appeared on the list, several truck stops you may encounter while traveling to vacation destinations in Washington, Utah and Oregon do. 

If you need to take a break to rest, refuel and use the restroom, Trucking 101 says you should use extra caution at these stops. 

What Sort of Danger is Lurking At These Truck Stops?

While it doesn’t come out and say it, it appears that the truck stops listed by Trucking 101 are the same ones listed on a Reddit post that shared a “Do Not Stop” list of truck stops. Many truckers jumped on that thread to explain that the safety issues don’t really apply to regular travelers who may be on a road trip. 

Those truck stops were ones that operate in areas where organized crime groups are notorious for trying to steal thousands of dollars of cargo from high value loads. The lists are given to truckers to help keep themselves and their load safe from these crime rings. 

Overhaul recently published their cargo theft report for 2024 and said, unfortunately, these types of crimes increased by 49% last year. They put together a map of where the 2,217 reported thefts happen. It shows activity in Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Utah. 

Bottom line? Stay alert if you must stop at one of the places we listed above but you’re probably fine if you’re just there for snacks and a bathroom break.