Thousands of Michigan Drivers Receive Training
in First Half of Fiscal Year
Public ServiceAnnouncements
LANSING, Mich. -- April 19, 2001 -- Reflecting an excellent state
safety record in comparison to the national average, the Michigan Center for
Truck Safety (MCTS) announces it has provided specialized safety training to
2,889 professional truck drivers and safety personnel in the first half of its
fiscal year (October 2000 – March 2001). The Center partners with Michigan trucking
companies to help keep the rate of big rigs involved in fatal crashes to that
of almost half the national average.
In Michigan, large trucks were involved in
just 7.1 percent of all fatal collisions in 1999. Nationally, trucks were involved
12 percent of the time. Both statistics are from law enforcement crash reports.
“While
the MCTS doesn’t directly take credit for the good driving record of truck drivers
as a whole in Michigan, we have to believe that all the additional training
the Center makes available must have some positive effect on making Michigan
roads safer,” said Capt. Robert Powers, commander of the Michigan State Police
Motor Carrier Division and chairman of the Michigan Truck Safety Commission,
which funds the Center. “One death is too many – but together the MCTS, the
Michigan Truck Safety Commission, Michigan’s trucking companies, law enforcement
officers and the truck drivers themselves will all continue to do our part to
strive for safer roads and fewer crashes each year.”
Four
of the Center’s main safety programs are
the Michigan Center for Decision Driving
(MCDD) and the Upper Peninsula Decision Driving Course (UPDDC),
Driver Performance Measurement (DPM) and the
National Safety Council’s Professional Truck Driving programs.
The
decision driving courses, also known as “skid pads,” offer unique,
comprehensive, behind-the-wheel training for commercial drivers in proper decision-making
and vehicle control; at both the Marshall and Escanaba locations. Skid pad training
allows truck drivers to experience and practice skid and jackknife control and
recovery, braking maneuvers and steering techniques in a safe, closed-course
setting.
DPM is a scientific assessment of driving habits
in real-world situations. Truck drivers’ positive habits and training needs
are assessed, one-on-one by trained, impartial observers on a pre-designed road
course. Each driver’s performance is assessed according to specific criteria.
A third area of training, the National Safety Council’s Decision Driving Course
for the Professional Truck Driver, can be taken either in a classroom setting
or interactively. This course helps demonstrate the difference between preventable
and non-preventable crashes.