Road Safe America Applauds American Trucking Associations Policy Supporting Electronic Speed Governors on All Big Trucks

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Road Safe America, a non-profit seeking to have a national regulation adopted requiring the use of speed governors to slow down tractor-trailer rigs to save lives, applauds the action by the board of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) supporting required activation of electronic speed governors on big trucks built since 1992 at 65 mph or slower.

The ATA board took the action as part of an 18-point initiative to reduce the number of highway fatalities by improving driver performance and vehicle safety. The ATA formerly had endorsed activation of speed governors on big trucks built in the future, so the retroactive nature of its new directive is welcomed as a pro-safety measure. This addresses the millions of existing trucks as well as those manufactured in the future.

“This is an historic breakthrough in our efforts to have speed governors activated at 65 mph on tractor trailer trucks over 13 tons because statistics from other nations show that when heavy trucks are operated at slower speeds, they are involved in fewer and less violent wrecks,” commented Stephen C. Owings, co-founder of Road Safe America (www.roadsafeamerica.org).

“The ATA is to be commended for its wisdom and foresight, and we hope the new policy will go into effect as soon as possible,” said Owings. “Each day that passes, more truckers and passenger car occupants and drivers are injured or killed in wrecks involving big rigs.”

Road Safe America was founded by the Owings after their son, Cullum, was killed in 2002 when his car – stopped in an interstate traffic jam – was crushed from behind by a tractor trailer truck going 7 mph over the posted speed limit on cruise control.

Since then, the Owings family and thousands of supporters in the trucking industry, government, business, and the insurance industry have been working to have speed governors, standard equipment on all heavy trucks in the U.S. since 1992, required to be activated on all Class 7 and 8 trucks (over 13 tons). “That one change will save the lives of some of the 1,000 truckers killed and the 4,000 motorists killed yearly in large-truck-related highway crashes,” said Owings, who has served on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee.

The European Union, Australia, Japan and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec have regulations requiring speed limiting devices set at or below 65 mph on all large trucks. Sadly, instead of showing international leadership, the U.S. is behind the rest of the world on this issue.

Owings said citizens should contact their representatives in Congress and Senators as well as the candidates for president requesting their support for requiring speed governors on big trucks to make the roads safer for everyone.

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Power Arms Vie for Aflac's National Baseball Player of the Year Honors

GFP Note: Kudos to Donavan Tate of Cartersville, GA. We're pulling for you!

PRNewswire/ -- Pitchers with incredible talent dominate the finalists as four hurlers are among the five players nominated for the fifth annual Aflac National High School Player of the Year Award, given to the country's top prep baseball player. The Player of the Year recipient will be presented with the Jackie Robinson Award, a trophy named in honor of the late Hall of Famer. Sharon Robinson, Robinson's daughter, will present the award at the Aflac All-American Awards Dinner held at the Omni Hotel on Aug. 8, 2008, in Los Angeles. Also on hand for the ceremony will be Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, who returns as honorary chairman for the 2008 Aflac All-American Baseball Game.

"We are extremely pleased to once again have Jackie Robinson's name associated with this prestigious award," said Sharon Robinson. "This award has gone to fine young men who exemplify what my father stood for, and gives recognition to the student athletes who strive for excellence and give back to the community."

  The Player of the Year nominees are:

 -- Mychal Givens, INF/RHP, Plant HS - Tampa, Fla.
 -- Austin Maddox, C/RHP, Eagle's View Academy - Jacksonville, Fla.
 -- Tyler Matzek, LHP, Capistrano Valley HS - Mission Viejo, Ca.
 -- Matthew Purke, LHP, Klein HS - Spring, Texas
 -- Donavan Tate, OF, Cartersville HS - Cartersville, Ga.
 -- Jacob Turner, RHP, Westminster Christian Academy - St. Charles, Mo.

The inaugural Jackie Robinson Award, presented in 2004, went to Aflac All-American alumnus Justin Upton, a shortstop from Great Bridge HS (Chesapeake, Va.). The Arizona Diamondbacks made Upton the No. 1 overall pick of the 2005 Major League Baseball June draft. Other winners were Cody Johnson, a first baseman/outfielder from Mosley HS (Panama City, Fla.) in 2005, Michael Burgess, an outfielder/pitcher from Hillsborough HS (Tampa, Fla.) in 2006 and Tim Melville, a pitcher/outfielder from Wentzville HS (Wentzville, Mo.), was honored last year.

The Jackie Robinson award, named after the first player to break the Major League Baseball color barrier, recognizes the nation's top rising senior who demonstrates outstanding character, exhibits leadership and embodies the values of being a student athlete. The player of the year nominees were determined by official Aflac All-American Baseball Game selection partner Perfect Game and media partner Baseball America.

The sixth annual Aflac All-American High School Baseball Game will be played Saturday, Aug. 9, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The event is the nation's elite high school baseball showcase featuring the top 38 rising senior players in an East vs. West match-up. The game will be televised live nationally on Fox Sports Net at 3 p.m. Eastern time. Proceeds from the game will benefit ThinkCure, the official charity of the Dodgers, which supports critical cancer research at City of Hope and Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles. Since 2005, the game has generated nearly $525,000 for charity.

To learn more about the Aflac National High School Player of the Year nominees and the Aflac All-American High School Baseball Game, visit www.aflacallamerican.com