Professional truck drivers, members of the Florida Trucking Assn.’s Road Team, in conjunction with the Florida Highway Patrol, visited 13 public high schools throughout Hillsborough County, FL, last week to demonstrate to more than 1,000 teen drivers how best to share the road safely with big rigs.

 “Sharing the road safely with large trucks can be a challenge for anyone, but it is especially challenging to new drivers,” said Mary Lou Rajchel, president & CEO of the Florida Trucking Association. “To ease this apprehension and educate young, new drivers, we provide education on the operating characteristics of full-size tractor trailers, as well as the large blind spots that exist.”

During the safety instruction, students had the opportunity to learn about the “No-Zone.”  A Florida Road Team member walked students through a safety demonstration duplicating a real-life highway scenario with cars and trucks.

Students also had the opportunity to get in the cab of a big rig and see firsthand the blind spots around tractor-trailers where cars "disappear" from a truck driver's view — referred to as “The No-Zone.”

The Florida Road Team is an ambassador and safety instruction program of the Florida Trucking Association. In 2012 alone, the Road Team’s 21 members delivered safety presentations to nearly 8,400 participants at 67 events statewide. This totals 816 Road Team hours and 454 Florida Highway Patrol Trooper hours (as part of the demonstration partnership).