Share the Road Program Completes Safety Tour of Virginia and West Virginia Schools

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Share the Road highway safety program wrapped up a month in which professional truck drivers toured high schools in Virginia and West Virginia teaching safe driving skills to thousands of students.

"This was an incredible opportunity to tour schools, speak to students, and spread our message of safety to young drivers," said Share the Road professional truck driver John Gaddy of Carbon Express Inc. "Students are very receptive to the lessons we teach them about safe driving and it's valuable for us to reach them at a young age before they have the chance to develop incorrect driving habits."

The tour included safety demonstrations using ATA's Share the Road Mack Pinnacle High Rise Sleeper and classroom segments that showed the Share the Road Instructional Video. Highly-trained professional truck drivers with millions of miles of accident-free driving walked students through the blind spots of commercial vehicles and talked to students about the dangers of distracted driving. The drivers also emphasized the long stopping distances of trucks and stressed the importance of maintaining safe distances during winter months when road conditions are less than ideal. Students had the opportunity to climb into the driver's seat of a truck to experience firsthand what a professional truck driver can and cannot see while operating a large commercial vehicle.

"The kids we met are at such a critical time in their lives when they can learn invaluable information about safe driving," said Share the Road professional truck driver Tim Taylor of FedEx Freight. "Visiting schools and helping these young drivers and future drivers understand the limitations of a truck is the main goal of our demonstrations."

Taylor recorded a video message about safety tips for students who are unable to attend a Share the Road demonstration but are interested in learning more about highway safety from a truck driver's perspective. The video is available on Share the Road's official YouTube channel.

Below is the list of schools the Share the Road program visited during the tour:

• Floyd County High School, Floyd, Virginia;
• Hidden Valley High School, Cave Spring, Virginia;
• Cave Spring High School, Roanoke, Virginia;
• Pulaski County High School, Dublin, Virginia;
• Blacksburg High School, Blacksburg, Virginia;
• Franklin County High School, Rocky Mt., Virginia; 
• Auburn High School, Riner, Virginia;  
• Jefferson High School, Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia; 
• Berkeley Springs High School, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia;
• Berkeley County Driving Range, Hedgesville, West Virginia; 
• Washington High School, Charles Town, West Virginia

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight. Follow ATA on Twitter or on Facebook. Trucking Moves America Forward.

SOURCE American Trucking Associations