NTSB Chairman hits the road with professional truck drivers.

Press Release Summary:



NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman departed on 2-day, 4-state journey from Washington D.C. to Louisville, KY in a long-haul tractor trailer driven by Stephanie Klang to get a cab's eye view of the commercial truck industry. Chairman Hersman, who holds a commercial driver's license, is traveling to the Mid-America Truck Show in Louisville where she will honor America's professional women truck drivers at the second annual Women in Trucking "Salute to Women Behind the Wheel" event on April 2.



Original Press Release:



NTSB Chairman Hersman Hits the Road with Professional Truck Drivers En Route to Mid-America Truck Show in Kentucky



National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman today departs on a two-day, four-state journey from Washington, D.C., to Louisville, Ky., in order to get a cab's-eye view of the commercial truck industry.

Chairman Hersman, who holds a commercial driver's license (CDL), is traveling to the Mid-America Truck Show in Louisville where she will honor America's professional women
truck drivers at the second annual Women in Trucking (WIT) "Salute to Women Behind the Wheel" event on April 2. Her journey, beginning at NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C., will involve traveling alongside five different professional "big-rig" drivers.

The ride-along will give Chairman Hersman a close-up view into the daily experiences of professional truck drivers as they navigate the nation's highways and work to share the road safely with the motoring public.

Chairman Hersman will leave NTSB headquarters the afternoon of March 30 in a 2011 Kenworth T-660 heavy-duty, long-haul tractor trailer driven by Stephanie Klang, a professional driver for Con-way Truckload. Along the route, Chairman Hersman will ride with four other professional drivers from WIT member companies, including Schneider, UPS, US Xpress, and Walmart.

"I'm excited to join these drivers for a real-world view of the challenges they face every day on the road," said Chairman Hersman. "The skill and professionalism drivers
bring to the job are essential to maintaining the highest level of safety on our nation's highways."

In addition to participating in the "Salute" in Louisville at the end of her trip, Chairman Hersman will observe a Level 1 roadside inspection at a Maryland weigh station, visit a travel center in West Virginia, meet with West Virginia and Kentucky transportation officials and safety advocates at two separate roundtables, and host two listening sessions, one with industry safety officials and one with professional drivers from across the industry.

The "Salute" will begin at 1 p.m. EDT on April 2 at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville. This year's event is expected to draw twice the number of
attendees at the 2010 "Salute" and hopes to break the Guinness World Book of Record's current entry for the largest gathering of female professional drivers (415 set in the Netherlands in 2004).

NTSB Media Contact: Bridget Serchak

202-314-6100

Bridget.serchak@ntsb.gov

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