National Share the Road Highway Safety Program Visits Jacksonville Auto Show

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 15, 2008 /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 Jacksonville International Car and Truck 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 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. The presentation will continue through Sunday afternoon, with specially scheduled "ride-alongs" available for Monday morning.

"It's great to be at the Jacksonville auto show," said 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 everyday. 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 today's event were professional truck drivers Dennis Day (Con-way Freight), Chris Serviss (Wal-Mart Transportation) and Rick Whittle (Bulldog Hiway Express). 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.

Serviss 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 area motorists because, according to national statistics:

-- The number of Florida teens killed due to ignoring auto safety increased to 72 percent in 2006, up from 57 percent in 2005 (2006 Florida Crash Statistics Report).

-- 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 Jacksonville International Car and Truck Show will continue Sat. and Sun., with special arrangements available for a private demonstration or a highway "ride-along" for media Mon. morning. Reporters will be 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. 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.

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.