Report: 'No-Zone' Message Has Been Sinking In

The “No-Zone” campaign has been talking about avoiding the “blind spots” on trucks for the last five years and it seems the public has been listening.

A recent report finds the blitz of information that has rained down on motorists in the joint government-industry effort has accomplished some of the goals set out with the program’s creation. The report also found the public open to the message of sharing the road with big rigs.

“The No-Zone campaign is a popular and well-received campaign,” Laura Corsello of Abacus Technology Corp. said in the study conducted for the Federal Highway Administration.

The positive review comes at a time when the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, has cast doubts on the program’s effectiveness.

Since its inception in 1994, the No-Zone campaign has spread far and wide, being embraced by thousands of officials in law enforcement, government, education, transportation and business. They have delivered the sermon about the hazardous spots around big rigs at highway rest areas, schools, conferences, driver education classes, festivals, shopping malls and other places where people congregate.

FHWA persuaded motor vehicle agencies in 34 states to include No-Zone information in driver education manuals and created a Share the Road Coalition with 35 members. The agency also ran four public service advertising campaigns and started a Web site (www.nozone.org) that receives 40,000 visits each month.

For the full story, see the July 19 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.