Lifesaving highway driving tips were presented Friday, June 6, at the 2008 Americade motorcycle rally in Lake George, N.Y., as part of the American Trucking Associations’ national Share the Road highway safety tour by top professional truck drivers. The Share the Road stop demonstrated to drivers how to share the road safely with large trucks.
The presentation, part of ATA’s National Safety Month outreach efforts, continued through Saturday afternoon with specially scheduled “ride-alongs” available by request. Featured at the weekend event were professional truck drivers Wayne Crowder (FedEx Ground), Kent Durant (Roadway) and David May (Con-way Freight). Those drivers are members of an elite team of million-mile accident-free truck drivers who deliver the trucking industry’s safety messages across the country.
“Americade is a chance for us to talk to a large number of motorcycle enthusiasts about the techniques they should know in order to stay safe around tractor-trailers,” May says. “Being from upstate New York myself, I feel like I am making a difference here with motorists I see on the highways. Hopefully attendees will leave the show with a better understanding of passing safely, maintaining a safe speed and keeping a minimum following distance, so everyone stays safe out on the highway.”
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. The demonstration is designed to teach specific skills to motorists in order to drive safely around other automobiles and around trucks and large commercial vehicles on the highways, and to arrive safely at their destinations.
“Share the Road allows me as a truck driver to give people lifesaving advice,” Crowder says. “Most 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.”
