Rep. Figures leads bipartisan national road safety week proposal
The measure drew support from trucking groups as lawmakers emphasized the need to share increasingly busy summer roads with commercial drivers.
Representative Shomari Figures, D-Alabama, introduced a bipartisan resolution Monday to designate a national week focused on road safety education.
Figures, co-chair of the Congressional Trucking Caucus, joined fellow caucus members to introduce a resolution designating May 31 through June 6 as “Our Roads, Our Safety Week.”
“As co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Trucking Caucus and a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I’m proud to co-lead this resolution,” Figures said.
“In Alabama’s 2nd District and across the country, truck drivers, bus operators and other commercial motor vehicle drivers keep our economy moving and our communities connected,” Figures said. “This bipartisan effort sends a clear message: road safety is a shared responsibility, and when every driver understands the rules of the road and the unique challenges large trucks and buses face, we can improve road safety and make sure everyone gets home safely.”
The resolution states that “the movement of goods and people is the backbone of the United States economy, with commercial motor vehicles transporting billions of tons of freight annually.” It also notes that thousands of people die each year in the United States in crashes involving large trucks and buses, “many of which are preventable through increased awareness and better driving practices.”
“With our trucking industry moving billions of tons of freight every year, road safety is a shared responsibility between passenger vehicle drivers, truck drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians,” Representative Dave Taylor, R-Ohio, said. “I am proud to stand with my fellow members of the Congressional Trucking Caucus to promote best practices on the road so families and truckers alike reach their destinations safely.”
Taylor also serves as co-chair of the Congressional Trucking Caucus.
The proposed designation is named after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Our Roads, Our Safety campaign.
“‘Our Roads, Our Safety Week’ serves as a call to action for federal, state and local partners to collaborate on initiatives that protect every individual on our nation’s roadways,” the resolution reads.
Alongside Figures and Taylor, the resolution received statements of support from leaders of the American Trucking Associations, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
“Truckers make the highways their office every day, and no one cares more about road safety than them. That’s why OOIDA supports FMCSA’s Our Roads, Our Safety campaign, an effort to educate all motorists about how to safely share the road with trucks,” OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer said.
“With more people on the road this summer, there’s no better time to commit to safer choices—for professionals who lead the way, and for every road user who shares the road with them,” FMCSA Administrator Derek D. Barrs said.
ATA Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs Alex Rosen thanked Taylor and Figures for introducing the resolution and emphasized the importance of road safety to America’s truck drivers.
“America’s 3.6 million truck drivers are true ambassadors for our industry, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to excellence whenever they are behind the wheel. Keeping our roads safe is a shared responsibility, and truckers’ professionalism serves as an example to all motorists,” Rosen said.
“The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance supports the Our Roads, Our Safety Week Resolution. As a transportation safety organization, the Alliance and its members are committed to reducing crashes, injuries and fatalities on the nation’s roadways and have long supported solutions to improve commercial motor vehicle, driver and roadway safety,” CVSA Executive Director Collin Mooney said.
Additional Congressional Trucking Caucus members who cosponsored the resolution include Representatives Mike Bost, R-Illinois; Dina Titus, D-Nevada; Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming; Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; Jefferson Shreve, R-Indiana; Addison McDowell, R-North Carolina; and Mary Miller, R-Illinois.
