Safety program teaches teen drivers not to hang out in the No-Zone
 

Every year, thousands of people across the country die on our nation’s highways in fatal crashes involving tractor-trailers. Orange County isn’t exempt. In the past few years, several area motorists have died from injuries sustained in car-truck crashes.

As part of its ongoing driver safety program, Port Jervis High School was one of several local high schools that participated this week in the U. S. Department of Transportation’s No-Zone driver safety program. The national public awareness campaign is designed to save lives by educating drivers how to safely share the road with large trucks and buses. Research shows that 70 percent of the fatal truck-car crashes were caused by passenger car driver error. The goal of the high school program is to inform inexperienced drivers and teens who will soon be on the road about the hazards presented by large trucks and to increase awareness of the No-Zone – blind spot danger areas around commercial vehicles in which cars “disappear” from the view of the truck driver.

On May 15, Port Jervis High School graduate Mike Cherry brought an 18-wheeler Landstar System truck to his alma mater to present road safety tips to students in grades 9 to 12. An independent contractor, Cherry has driven for Landstar for more than 10 years. The special presentation was coordinated by his wife, Monica, an independent Landstar freight agent.

As part of the safety program, all students were given the chance to see the No-Zone first-hand by sitting in the truck driver's seat. Additionally, the Cherrys and Landstar managers Bob Downey and Bill Stoud  presented students with important safety tips about the dangers of tailgating, cutting in front of trucks, and driving in the truck’s blind spots. Unlike cars, Cherry says 18-wheelers and other large trucks have huge blind spots behind them. They also have No-Zone areas in front and on both sides of the vehicle. "If you can't see the driver's face in his side-view mirror, he can't see you," he noted. 
 
Most of the students who sat in the Landstar truck said they now have a different - more cautious perspective - about sharing the road with the tractor-trailers.

Landstar System was selected by the Department of Transportation to present the No-Zone Safety Programs based on its safety record.