National Share the Road Highway Safety Program Visits Cheyenne to Promote Safe Driving

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.


With families preparing for summer vacations, highway traffic will soon increase and make safe driving techniques all the more important. And according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation, traffic fatalities in the state occur at a rate 23 percent higher than the national average.


The American Trucking Associations, Wyoming Trucking Association, AAA MountainWest, and the Share the Road sponsors, Mack Trucks and Michelin North America, joined the elite group of drivers to discuss highway safety with Wyoming motorists. The Cheyenne, Wyo. Share the Road stop demonstrated to drivers how to share the road safely with large trucks.


"When the summer rolls around, we tend to see a significant increase in highway traffic," said Ralph Garcia, a professional truck driver from ABF Freight. "Additional cars on the road means safe driving habits become all the more important. That's why we're out here today - to educate the public and make us all a little safer."


Featured at today's event were professional truck drivers Ralph Garcia (ABF Freight), David May (Con-way Freight) and Tony Sifford (FedEx Ground). These 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.


Wyoming Trucking Association President Sheila Foertsch told reporters at the event that, "Share the Road is a vital part of our efforts to make the highways safe in Wyoming. 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 statistics:

149 fatalities occurred on Wyoming highways in 2007 (WyDOT).

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.


Following the safety demonstration today at the ABF Terminal at the Little America Hotel/Truck Stop, reporters and photographers were given tractor-trailer rides on I-25. From the truck driver's perspective they viewed safe merging and stopping distances, and learned 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 in order for motorists to drive safely around other automobiles and around trucks on the highways, so that they arrive safely at their destinations.