By Staff
HIGHWAY SAFETY Allen James, truck driver for Roadway Express Inc., talks about highway safety with Doris Walz of Germany. Roadway displayed one of their 18-wheelers at the Mississippi Welcome Center near Toomsuba to help motorists drive safely and understand truck drivers' "blind spots." Photo by Paula Merritt / The Meridian Star.
By Chris Whitaker / staff writer
May 25, 2002
Workers from a national shipping company spent Friday at the Mississippi Welcome Center on Interstate 20/59 in Toomsuba educating motorists about sharing the road with truckers.
Leon Olczak, relay manager of Roadway Express Inc. in Meridian, said he hopes people will be more aware about truck traffic when driving on the road.
Roadway Express has been in business for 72 years. The company has 368 terminals worldwide, including some in 28 foreign countries.
To help educate motorists about what a trucker sees, visitors had a chance Friday to sit in the driver's seat of a truck. On both sides were vehicles in the truck's blind spot, or "no zone" area.
Wright is one of five drivers from Roadway who participated in the demonstration. He said the five have combined for more than 10 million miles of accident-free driving.
He also said 40 percent of Roadway Meridian relay drivers have traveled more than 1 million miles accident-free.
Wright said that the best way for truck drivers to be aware of vehicles near them on the highway is simple "if he can see you in his mirror, you can see him."
To avoid blind spots, Wright said motorists should ease around when passing trucks. He also said motorists should leave space between themselves and the truck when passing.