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National Share the Road Highway Safety Program Visits Denver Auto Show

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 April 2009, 14:45 CDT

DENVER, April 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Life-saving highway driving tips were presented today as part of the American Trucking Associations' national Share the Road highway safety tour by top professional truck drivers.

The Denver Auto Show provided the perfect backdrop for the elite group of million mile accident-free drivers to share their message of road safety. According to the Colorado State Patrol, 534 lives were lost as a result of traffic crashes in Colorado during 2006.

The Denver, Colo., Share the Road stop demonstrated to drivers how to share the road safely with large trucks and is presented in conjunction with the Colorado Motor Carriers Association. The presentation will continue through Sunday evening, with drivers available for interviews in the cab of the truck or in studio.

"Denver is a great city and we are glad to be here to help educate motorists on how to safely drive around tractor-trailers," said Tim Dean, a professional truck driver from Werner Enterprises. "With Denver being a major transportation hub, there is quite a bit of traffic. Hopefully drivers can take the tips we give today and use them to drive a little more aware and arrive home safely."

Featured at today's event were professional truck drivers Tim Dean (Werner Enterprises), Frank Silio (Covenant Transport), Paul Gattin (ABF Freight System) and Clarence Jenkins (UPS 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.

Gattin told attendees and reporters at the event that, "Share the Road allows me as a truck driver to give people life-saving advice. 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."

Today's presentation of Share the Road safety measures is important to Colorado motorists because:

• 51 Colorado motorists were involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer in 2006 (Colorado State Patrol).
• 35 percent of all truck-involved highway fatalities occur in a truck's blind spots (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration).
• According to three different studies - including the AAA Traffic Safety Foundation and DOT, 3 out of 4 truck-involved fatalities are unintentionally initiated by car drivers.

The safety demonstration today at the Denver Auto Show will continue through Sun., with special arrangements available for media interviews through Sunday night. Reporters will be able to view the road 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. Today's demonstration was 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. (See the attached Share the Road safety guidelines.)

Share the Road is a highway safety outreach program of the American Trucking Associations that educates all drivers about sharing the roads safely with large trucks. An elite team of professional truck drivers with millions of accident-free miles deliver life-saving messages to millions of motorists annually. The safety program is sponsored by Mack Trucks, Inc. and Michelin North America, Inc. www.atastr.org

ABOUT THE SAFETY PARTNERS

American Trucking Associations: American Trucking Associations, the national trade association for the trucking industry, is a federation of affiliated state trucking associations, conferences and organizations that includes more than 38,000 motor carrier members representing every type and class of motor carrier in the country.

The American Trucking Associations has led the campaign for rigorous safety laws that affect every driver on the nation's highways. ATA's overall safety agenda includes greater education on sharing the road with large trucks, increased traffic enforcement for all vehicles that operate unsafely around large trucks, the adoption of primary safety belt laws in all states, and reinstatement of a national maximum speed limit of 65 mph for all vehicles. ATA also supports limiting truck speeds at the time of manufacture. www.truckline.com

Colorado Motor Carriers Association: The Colorado Motor Carriers Association is committed to safety on the state's highways. With over 500 companies, CMCA represents the unified trucking industry of Colorado. As an industry, trucking is a vital part of Colorado's economy, carrying millions of dollars worth of cargo every day and servicing every community in the state. Many communities in Colorado are served exclusively by trucks, and couldn't exist without the trucking industry. http://www.cmca.com

Mack Trucks, Inc: Dedicated to quality, reliability, and total customer satisfaction, Mack Trucks, Inc. has provided its customers with innovative transportation solutions for more than a century. Today, Mack is one of North America's largest producers of heavy-duty trucks, and MACK(r) vehicles are sold and serviced in more than 45 countries worldwide. Since 2000, Mack has proudly sponsored Share the Road, the American Trucking Associations' public information outreach campaign aimed at

enhancing the safety of our nation's roadways. In 2007, the company donated to Share the Road a new Mack Pinnacle(TM) 70-Inch High-Rise sleeper for use in the program's safety and media events. www.macktrucks.com

Michelin North America: Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks, motorcycles and the space shuttle. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, SC, Michelin North America employs 22,230 and operates 19 major manufacturing plants in 17 locations. Michelin North America became a sponsor of American Trucking Associations' Share the Road program in January 2006. The 53' Share the Road tractor-trailer rolls across the country on Michelin X One drive tires and anti-splash steer tires". www.michelin-us.com

Other Links:

ABF Freight System: http://www.abfs.com

Con-way Freight: http://www.con-way.com

Covenant Transport: http://www.covenanttransport.com

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov

UPS Freight: http://www.upsfreight.com

Werner Enterprises: http://www.werner.com

ATA Share The Road Safety Guidelines for Motorists

• Never cut in front of a truck - Fully loaded trucks weigh up to 80,000 pounds and take the length of a football field to stop. Most cars weigh only 3,000 pounds.
• Don't linger alongside a truck - There are large blind spots around trucks where cars momentarily "disappear" from view and the truck driver can't see you.
• Pass trucks quickly - To make themselves visible cars should not linger near trucks, and should move past them or slow down to back off, out of the blind spot.
• Changing lanes - Change lanes when you can see both of the truck's headlights in your rearview mirror.
• If possible, pass a truck on the left, not on the right - A truck's blind spot on the right runs the length of the trailer and extends out 3 lanes. Motorists should try to avoid passing through this large blind spot.
• Keep a safety cushion around trucks - Try to leave a 10-car length safety cushion in front of a truck and stay back 20-25 car lengths. Following a truck too closely obscures your view.
• Check the truck's mirrors - If you're following a truck and you can't see the driver's face in the truck's side mirrors, the truck driver can't see you.
• Allow trucks adequate space to maneuver - Trucks make wide turns at intersections and require additional lanes to turn, so motorists should allow a truck the space it needs to maneuver.

For additional information about Share the Road, please contact ATA at 703-838-1836

SOURCE American Trucking Associations

Source: PR Newswire

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