Rest area

There may also be drinking fountains, vending machines, pay telephones, a fuel station, a restaurant/food court, or a convenience store at a service area.

Service areas tend to have traveller information in the form of so-called "exit guides", which often contain very basic maps and advertisements for local motels and nearby tourist attractions.

Privatised commercial services may take the form of a truck stop complete with a filling station, arcade video games, and even a children's recreation area or playground, as well as shower and laundry facilities, nearby fast food eateries(s), or their own cafeteria or food court, all under one roof, immediately adjacent to the motorway.

Some offer business and financial services, such as ATMs, fax machines, office cubicles, as well as the aforementioned internet access.

SAs are usually very large facilities with parking for hundreds of cars and many buses - offering toilets, smoking areas, convenience stores, pet relief areas, restaurants, regional souvenir shops, a filling station, and sometimes even tourist attractions, such as a Ferris wheel or a view of a famous location.

The other grade of rest stop is a "Parking Area", or a PA. PAs are much smaller, and spaced roughly 20 minutes apart on the system.

In addition to conventional functions of service area, most of them also provide shops and restaurants dedicated to local culture and local produce, and a number of them would also feature information center, community hall, leisure facilities including hot springs and parks and such, and other features unique to individual stations.

In South Korea, a rest area usually includes a park and fast casual restaurants that sell regional specialties.

[5] In some countries, such as Spain, rest areas are uncommon, as motorists are directed to establishments that serve both the traveling public and the local population.

Most service stations accommodate fast food outlets, restaurants, coffee shops, general goods and mini supermarkets.

They are marked by a rectangular blue sign bearing a white letter P, and there should also be advance warning of lay-bys to give drivers time to slow down safely.

Lastly, truck inspection stations (which are more frequent than service centres) can be used by travellers for bathroom breaks, although this is not encouraged.

Two off-highway service campuses at Exit 74 along the Queen Elizabeth Way in Grimsby are unofficial rest areas for travelling motorists.

In the United States, rest areas are typically non-commercial facilities that provide, at a minimum, parking and restrooms.

Some may have information kiosks, vending machines, and picnic areas, but little else, while some have "dump" facilities, where recreational vehicles may empty their sewage holding tanks.

[2] A federal statute passed by Congress also prohibits states from allowing private businesses to occupy rest areas along interstate highways.

The original reason for this clause was to protect innumerable small towns whose survival depended upon providing roadside services such as gasoline, food, and lodging.

Therefore, the standard practice is that private businesses must buy up land near existing exits and build their own facilities to serve travelers.

Special blue signs indicating gas, food, lodging, camping and roadside attractions near an exit can be found on most freeways in the United States.

Until the release of the 2000 edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, these signs were allowed only on the rural sections of highways.

Prior to the creation of the Interstate Highway System, many states east of the Rocky Mountains had already started building and operating their own long-distance intercity toll roads (turnpikes).

To help recover construction costs, most turnpike operators leased concession space at rest areas to private businesses.

The New York State Thruway Service Areas (which will be owned by another company by Applegreen) was not affected by this transition due to the fact that Host's contract was expired.

[27] As of July 2022, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have service areas that are operated or have stake by Applegreen.

The practice involves placing road signs which indicate the nearest "texting zone" at which to legally stop and use mobile devices such as smartphones.

The most basic parking areas have no facilities of any kind; they consist solely of a paved shoulder on the side of the highway where travelers can rest for a short time.

They are the responsibility of a variety of authorities, such as a state transport or main roads bureau, or a local government's works department.

Facilities and standards vary widely and unpredictably: a well-appointed rest area will have bins to deposit small items of litter, a picnic table with seating, a cold water tap (sometimes fed by a rainwater tank), barbecue fireplace (sometimes gas or electric), toilets, and – less commonly – showers.

Comfort and hygiene are important considerations for the responsible authorities, as such remote sites can be very expensive to clean and maintain, and vandalism is common.

In Queensland, however, well-maintained rest areas sometimes explicitly invite travelers to stay overnight, as a road safety measure, but this is rare elsewhere.