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U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of Public Affairs
1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E.
Washington, DC 20590
www.dot.gov/affairs/index.html
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Contact: Candice Tolliver
Tel.: (202) 366-9999
STAY OUT OF A TRUCK’S "NO ZONE" AND "NO TEXTING" PLEDGE TO TAKE AIM AT
TEEN DRIVING SAFETY DURING HIGH-RISK GRADUATION AND SUMMER SEASON
Teens to Join Roadway Safety Leaders and Families of Distracted Driving Crash Victims at "Teens & Trucks" Demo
| 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
18-wheel tractor trailer will be parked in front of school for "No Zone" demo
| | 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 available to attending news media.
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