State Reps. Team with Truckers for Highway Safety

Focus I-81, Safe 80, PA State Police and Truck Drivers Offer Driving Tips

               Mack Trucks Sponsored Share the Road Program

Each day as many as 75,000 vehicles travel I-81 through Wilkes-Barre and Scranton and over 60,000 vehicles traverse Interstate 80 in Monroe County. With so many vehicles on the highways, it's more important than ever that motorists and drivers of large trucks learn to share the road safely.

Pennsylvania state legislators will team up with professional truck drivers to demonstrate how to drive safely around tractor-trailers on local highways because:

  * 75% of all truck-related car fatalities are initiated by car drivers
  * 35% of all truck-related car fatalities occur in a truck's blind spots
  * Watching this demonstration will help reduce accidents

On November 6th, professional truck drivers, Danny Ewell and Mike Smucker, will give a safety demonstration and truck ride-along to teach motorists how to stay safe on our nation's highways. Focus I-81, Safe 80, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and Mack Trucks will sponsor the event.

                  Rides will be available for the media
                immediately following the news conference

  WHEN:   Thursday, November 6th, 9:15 AM

  WHERE:  Wal-Mart, 1201 Oak Street, Pittston, PA
          Directions: From Scranton take I-81 Exit 175A, then right onto Oak
          St.  From Wilkes-Barre take I-81 Exit 175, then left onto Oak St.

  WHO:
          Rep. Kelly Lewis, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District
          189 & Safe 80 Chairman, East Stroudsburg, PA

          Rep. Mario Scavello, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Mt.
          Pocono, PA

          Rep. Jim Wansacz, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Old
          Forge/Olyphant, PA

          Rep. John Yudichak, Pennsylvania House of Representatives,
          Nanticoke, PA

          Mike Smucker, ATA's America's Road Team Captain, Yellow
          Transportation, Lititz, PA

          Danny Ewell, ATA's America's Road Team Captain, Wal-Mart,
          Greeneville, TN

          James Connors, Governor's NE Regional Office, Wilkes-Barre, PA

          Jim Brunozzi, Office of PA Senator Robert Mellow, District 22,
          Peckville, PA

          Allen Baldwin, Dir. of Operations and Incident Mgt., PA Turnpike
          Commission, Harrisburg, PA

          Sgt. John Brostoski, PA State Police, Dunmore, PA

          Dan Smyser, PENNDOT Motor Carrier Division, Harrisburg, PA

          Dave Krisanda, PENNDOT District 4-0, Dunmore, PA

          Cameron Moore, President/CEO, Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance
          (NEPA), Pittston, PA

          Gene Kane, Jr., Executive Vice President, Kane is Able, Inc. &
          Focus I-81 Co-chair, Scranton, PA

          Tom Lawson, Borton-Lawson Engineering & Focus I-81 Co-chair,
          Wilkes-Barre, PA

PRNewswire -- Nov. 5