Is it snowing where you are? Raining? Sleeting? Icy?
Are you on the road and in the middle of it?
If so, the Share the Road National Highway Safety Program offers this advice on how to navigate through highway traffic and arrive at your destination safely:
- Avoid extreme weather conditions: Ice, hail and snow make roads difficult to travel. Try to avoid driving through extreme weather conditions, and travel during daylight.
- Remove ice and snow from your vehicle: Clear your windows and roof of snow to insure you have maximum visibility and avoid creating a hazard for the vehicle behind you. Don’t allow ice and snow to create additional blindspots on your vehicle.
- Be aware of the vehicle in front of you: Leave extra room between you and the vehicle in front so you can avoid snow and ice blowing onto your windshield or maneuver around patches of ice.
- Prepare an emergency kit: Contents should include: battery powered radio, flashlight, blanket, jumper cables, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, bottled water, non-perishable foods, maps, tire repair kit and flares.
- Be aware of truck blind spots: When sharing the road with large trucks, be aware of their blind spots. If you can't see the truck driver in his or her mirrors, then the truck driver can’t see you.
- Do not cut in front of large trucks: Remember that trucks are heavier and take longer to make a complete stop, so avoid cutting quickly in front of them.
- Slow Down: When highways are hit with wintry conditions, speeding becomes even more dangerous. Allow plenty of space cushion and reduce your speed.
- Buckle up: Safety belts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 45 percent and are a simple way to increase your safety on the road.
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.
FMCSA to Hold Public Listening Session on Hours-of-Service Proposed Rule
Agency to Conduct Live Webcast Listening Session and Take Online
Comments and Questions
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced it will hold a public listening session on its regulatory proposal that would revise hours-of-service (HOS) requirements for commercial truck drivers on February 17, 2011 in Arlington, Virginia.
The public listening session will be held at the Crowne Plaza Washington National Airport Hotel, 1480 Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia. To encourage maximum public participation, the entire listening session will be live webcast at www.fmcsa.dot.gov. Additionally, as part of the webcast, FMCSA officials will take online comments and questions from the public starting at 12 noon until 12 midnight EST.
To learn more about federal HOS requirements, please visit the FMCSA website.
Interested persons may also contact David Miller, FMCSA Office of Policy Plans and Regulation at:
(202) 366-5011.
Trucker Buddy International Announces the Teacher of the Month Award
Trucker Buddy is pleased to announce that beginning in January 2011, it will be taking nominations for its newest program, The Teacher of the Month Award. Each month, deserving teachers will be selected based on the recommendations of their driver and their long time experience of being involved in the program. Trucker Buddies will send in letters to nominate their prospective teacher and explain why their teacher should be selected to be named a winner. Selection will take place at the Trucker Buddy offices and the winning teachers will be recognized at the Great West Truck Show in Las Vegas in June. Each Teacher of the Month will receive a gift box and plaque to recognize their selection.
“We have three important components in our program; the drivers, the classrooms of students and the teachers. Without our fantastic teachers, the Trucker Buddy program would not create an atmosphere of learning, achievement and helping young students grow academically. This is just a small way for us to say thank you to teachers who are using Trucker Buddy to make the students classroom experience better. I’m thrilled to see this happen this year.” says Randy Schwartzenburg, Trucker Buddy executive director.
For more information on The Teacher of the Month Award visit the Trucker Buddy website at:
www.truckerbuddy.org.
Trucker Buddy International, an independent, non-profit 501(c) (3) organization, often called the number one trucking image campaign in North America, has helped educate schoolchildren and introduce educators to the trucking industry. This gives them the world through the eyes of a professional truck driver. The Trucker Buddy program helps to educate and mentor schoolchildren via a pen pal relationship between professional truck drivers and children in grades K-8 as supervised by their teachers.
After an extensive screening process, the professional truck drivers are matched with a class and as directed by the teacher, drivers share news about their travels with their class. Students write letters and send pictures to their drivers. Students' skills in reading, writing, geography, mathematics, social studies, and history are enhanced and learning is made fun.
Since 1992, Trucker Buddy International has helped educate over a million schoolchildren and introduced them to caring, compassionate men and women, professional truck drivers. The on-going success of the program is due to driver volunteers, participating teachers and the contributions of sponsors. There is no cost to the drivers or teachers to participate in the program. The Trucker Buddy program is funded entirely by sponsorships and donations.
Click Here to see the latest Trucker Buddy eMagazine and Videos.
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If what you told us is true, it looks like 2011 is going to be a busy year!
Here are the results from the TruckDriver.com Maybe It’s Time for a Change Survey:
Will you be looking for a new driving job in 2011?
Yes - 98%
No - 2%
Speaking of change, take the
TruckDriver.com Political Prognostication Survey and do a little prognosticating for us.
Until next time, keep on truckin' and please drive safely.
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