Lifesaving highway driving tips were presented Friday, Feb. 15, as part of the American Trucking Associations’ national Share the Road highway safety tour by top professional truck drivers. The Jacksonville International Car and Truck Show provided the backdrop for the group of million-mile accident-free drivers to share their message of road safety.
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, 3,365 lives were lost as a result of traffic crashes in Florida during 2006. The Jacksonville, Fla., Share the Road stop demonstrated to drivers how to share the road safely with large trucks.
“It’s great to be at the Jacksonville auto show,” says Dennis Day, a professional truck driver from Con-way Freight. “I travel between Atlanta and Jacksonville for my route, so I am very happy to help educate the motoring public that I interact with every day. Hopefully, we’ll teach the attendees the importance of passing safely, maintaining a safe speed and keeping a minimum following distance, so we can all get home safely to our families.”
Featured at Friday’s event were Day, Chris Serviss (Wal-Mart Transportation) and Rick Whittle (Bulldog Hiway Express). “Share the Road allows me as a truck driver to give people lifesaving advice,” Serviss says. “Most automobile drivers were never taught what they can do to avoid an accident with a tractor-trailer. By being aware of the blind spots around trucks, all drivers can more easily avoid crashes. This information, and other safety advice, will help everyone to share the roads safely.”
Special arrangements were available for a private demonstration or a highway “ride-along” for media today, Feb. 18. Reporters were able to view safe merging and stopping distances from the truck driver’s perspective, and learn up close and personal some of the differences between how cars and large trucks operate on the highways.
