National Share the Road Highway Safety Program Visits Blessing of the Bikes Motorcycle Rally

COLEBROOK, N.H., June 27 /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 Gold Wing Road Riders Association 2009 Blessing of the Bikes motorcycle rally provided the perfect backdrop for the elite group of million mile accident-free drivers to share their message of road safety. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorcycles are the only major motor vehicle category in which highway death rates have risen during the last decade.

The Colebrook, N.H. Share the Road stop allowed the elite Share the Road drivers the opportunity to show what professional truck drivers can and cannot see, and provide tips for how motorcyclists can stay safe on the highway.

"Reaching out to the members of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association is a chance for us to talk to a large number of motorcycle enthusiasts about the techniques they should know in order to stay safe around tractor-trailers," said John Foran, a professional truck driver for UPS. "Hopefully attendees will leave the show with a better understanding of passing safely, maintaining a safe speed and keeping a minimum following distance, so everyone stays safe out on the highway."

Featured at this weekend's event were professional truck drivers Jerry Charron (Con-way Freight) and John Foran (UPS). 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.

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

• Motorcycle fatalities have increased nearly 60 percent during the last five years (NHTSA).
• 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.

At the truck safety demonstration, attendees were given a chance to see the road 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.

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