Teens to Join Roadway Safety Leaders and Families of Distracted Driving Crash Victims at "Teens & Trucks" Demo

WASHINGTON, May 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:

WHAT: "Teens and Trucks" news conference to demonstrate the need for teen drivers to steer clear of a truck's "No Zone" and to sign up teens for a "No Texting While Driving" pledge.

• WHY: Traffic crashes are the #1 cause of death and injury of teens and young adults.
• The graduation season, end of the school year and the start of summer is the most deadly time of year for teens on the nation's roadways.
• Teens are disproportionately involved in fatal crashes with large trucks.

WHEN: Thursday, June 2, 2011, at 11:00 a.m.

WHERE: Walt Whitman High School, 7100 Whittier Boulevard, Bethesda, Maryland

WHO:

• Anne Ferro, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• Sandy Spavone, Executive Director, National Organizations for Youth Safety
• Steve Keppler, Executive Director, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance
• Jacy Good: On the day of her college graduation in May 2008, a young driver talking on a cell phone on a Pennsylvania roadway ran a red light, causing a tractor-trailer to crash into the Goods' vehicle, seriously injuring Jacy and killing her parents. Jacy resides in White Plains, NY
• Laurie Kelly, a Takoma Park, Maryland mother and teacher whose 23-year-old son was killed in a distracted driving crash in Colorado in May 2010.
• Maryland State Police First Sgt. Robert Mondor will lead a "Stay Out of the No Zone" car-truck safety demonstration.
• High school students will stand inside the truck's "No Zone" to demonstrate areas around a truck where passenger vehicles cannot be seen.

VISUALS: TRUCK "NO ZONE" DEMONSTRATION: High school students will stand inside a tractor-trailer's "No Zone" to highlight the areas around a truck where a truck driver cannot see passenger vehicles.

"NO TEXTING PROMISE": Students will sign a "No Texting Promise" poster that will be on display next to the tractor-trailer.

TEENS & TRUCKS television and radio public service spots will be made available to attending news media.

SOURCE Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

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RELATED LINKS
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov