During the American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition in Grapevine, Texas, Volvo Trucks announced its ongoing support of America’s Road Team, which uses professional drivers with outstanding driving records to deliver messages about highway safety and the essentiality of trucking. In addition, Mack Trucks renewed its support for ATA’s Share The Road program, designed to enhance the safety of America’s highways by teaching car drivers how to drive safely around large trucks.
“All of us at Volvo Trucks are very proud to be part of the ATA’s America’s Road Team program,” says Ron Huibers, Volvo Trucks North America senior vice president of sales and marketing. “As one of the most important and effective highway safety efforts out there, the program fits perfectly with Volvo’s core value of safety.”
The members of America’s Road Team are known as Captains, many of whom have accumulated millions of miles of accident-free driving. They undergo a rigorous selection process to become part of the program.
The Road Team Captains speak to hundreds of groups of lawmakers, government officials, students, regulators and other truck drivers. Their presentations include safe driving tips and highway safety information, much based upon their own experiences, as well as the importance of trucking to the American economy.
Last January, at its New River Vally plant in Dublin, Va., Volvo Trucks presented a new VN 780 to the Road Team Captains and ATA officials. The new truck features lifesaving Volvo safety technologies, including Volvo Enhanced Stability Technology (VEST) by Bendix and Volvo Enhanced Cruise (VEC), and the Volvo I-Shift automated manual transmission.
Since receiving the truck, the Road Team Captains have been using it to transport the ATA Image Trailer, a mobile presentation facility, around the country, as they spread the industry’s messages of safety and essentiality. “The Road Team Captains are the ultimate trucking ambassadors,” Huibers says. “With their passion and track record for safe driving, they are making our roadways safer for everybody.”
Share The Road uses professional truck drivers with exemplary safety records to deliver lifesaving messages about potential blind spots, safe following distances, truck stopping distances and other important topics. The drivers share this information with local media, students, community leaders and highway users across the United States, using a Mack Pinnacle model highway tractor donated by the truck maker as part of its support of Share The Road.
“Thanks to Share The Road, millions of Americans know how to safely drive around large trucks, and millions more learn every year,” says Kevin Flaherty, Mack senior vice president-U.S. and Canada. “We are proud to support the program and its professional drivers as they work to make our highways safer places for everyone. At Mack, we salute not only these drivers who continue to deliver lifesaving messages across the country, but also the fleets they work for who encourage them to participate in Share The Road.”
Michelin Truck Tires will be a co-sponsor of the 2012 Share The Road program. “Respect for people is one of Michelin’s core values,” the company says. “There is probably no better respect for people than for their safety.”
