Technical Release

IN THE COMPANY OF TRUCKS SAFETY VIDEO

Trucks/Trucking: safety

Feb. 2003
03-R-11

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INTRODUCTION: The North Carolina Forestry Association (NCFA), in cooperation with FRA's Timber Harvesting and Transportation Safety Foundation, has produced a nine-minute instructional video which provides important safety messages to passenger vehicle drivers who must co-exist on highways with large commercial trucks. The video, entitled In The Company of Trucks: Be Seen, Be Alive, features forest products industry trucks, and it is excellent for student driver classes, senior citizen meetings, AAA member groups, and civic organizations.

Fig. 1: Video teaches passenger vehicle drivers how to share the road safely with large trucks.

GENERAL FEATURES: The video content was developed by the NCFA Safety, Logging, and Transportation Committee and reviewed by FRAÕs Southwide Safety Committee. The video illustrates several key safety issues which passenger vehicle drivers should know:

  • How nearly 70% of crashes that involve large trucks were caused by the other driver.
  • How sufficient braking distance is critical to trucks stopping in time to avoid a crash.
  • How large trucks sometimes appear to be moving at speeds and closing distances slower than in reality.
  • How large trucks have inherent blind spots where cars can disappear from view.
  • How trucks must use a larger space to maneuver and turn in traffic lanes.
  • How professional truck drivers drive defensively, but cannot in all cases avoid unsafe actions by personal vehicle operators.

The video comes with a two-sided sheet providing instructions on when, where, and how to show the video. It also provides some sample questions and answers which the discussion leader can ask the audience after showing the video. The video is useful as part of a formal training program or informally as a meeting opener or information piece. The discussion leader is encouraged to emphasize that the forest products industry cares about the public's safety on our highways and that all drivers share responsibility for safety.

APPLICATION: NCFA members have hand-delivered the video and guide to local student driver instructors and school boards. They have also direct-mailed or hand-delivered videos to many private schools. Approximately 600 videos had been distributed as of November 2002. NCFA has received positive feedback from drivers training instructors who viewed the tape, saw how important the topic was, and realized that this video filled a void in their instructional program.

COSTS: To order the video and training guide, call NCFA at 800/231-7723, or visit www.ncforestry.org. The video currently sells for $20 each, with bulk discounts available for quantities of 50 or more. The video is generic enough that any state should find it a useful educational tool. Anyone who drives on public highways will be interested in the messages.

Doug Duncan
Director, Logging and Transportation
North Carolina Forestry Association
1600 Glenwood Avenue, Suite I
Raleigh, North Carolina 27608
919/834-3943 or 800/231-7723
fax 919/832-6188
dduncan@ncforestry.org

FRA STAFF COMMENT: NCFA has produced other highly successful safety videos, including Professional Hauling of Forest Products, The Cutting Edge of Safety, and the forthcoming Safe Vehicle Operation on Woods Roads. This one focuses on a key component of log trucking safety -- the "four-wheelers."

Reviewed By:
Richard Lewis
Acting Lake States Technical Division Forester

 

Forest Resources Association Inc.
600 Jefferson Plaza, Suite 350, Rockville, Maryland 20852
Phone: (301) 838-9385     Fax: (301) 838-9481