Student drivers get the truck driver experience

Saturday, June 15, 2013
Banner Graphic/ LAUREN BOUCHER
Walmart professional commerical vehicle drivers, Mike Toole (right) and Scott Stierwalt came to Greencastle High School Friday morning to educate drivers education students about the hazards of driving next to semis. Among the students in the class were Angel Willaims, Josie Kashman and Michaela Tincher.

Twenty years ago a group of professional commercial vehicle drivers from Walmart started a program for young drivers to gain a better understanding of not only being on the road with trucks, but being inside one as well.

Distracted driving has become a major problem lately when it comes to accidents and Walmart has taken hold of the issue by offering its free program to anyone who will listen, this time it was the drivers education students at Greencastle High School.

The "Share the Road" program originally started out in Greencastle, by a group of Greencastle Walmart drivers who had the desire to educate young drivers on how to safely drive around semi's.

When the program first began, Walmart had teamed up with the Indiana State Police to develop the class. Troopers would take care of the in-class education, while the drivers would perform actual driving maneuvers in the parking lot. From the beginning, the program drew tons of intrest and quickly branched out to the entire fleet of 8,000 trucks.

"There are numerous drivers that are passionate about sharing the education. The company had 45 identical 'Committed to Safety' trailers delivered to our transportation offices from coast to coast in 2006," said General Transportation Manager Jason Lukenbill. "Since that time, the classroom dynamic has changed considerably. The state is limited with funding, public schools are offering less driver education programs, privatization has been prevalent and public awareness campaigns have decreased."

Although, funding is tight Walmart continues to promote the "Share the Road" educational program to non-profit organizations, such as public schools, civic groups or at community events.

"It's just grown from state to state," said Walmart driver Scott Stierwalt. "It's all about saving lives. We are not here to intimidate you, we want to educate you."

The program for Stierwalt is one that he holds close, as he lost his daughter and granddaughter in a car accident.

"There's a place in my heart for this program," said Stierwalt. "There's no match for your car and my truck. This is 80,000 pounds. I don't want to run anyone over"

These drivers have seen it all when it comes to distracted driving as they shared stories of watching people have a pizza on their laps while smoking and texting, which resulted in crashing into a parked truck at 70 miles per hour.

The three drivers, Mike Toole, Richard Morgan and Stierwalt, also shared stories of those who get aggravated when trucks try to pass each other and slide between the two before the truck on the left has time to safely get over.

"Everyone's scared to pass a semi," said Stierwalt. "I'm scared. The number one reason I'm apprehensive is that I don't know who is driving that truck."

The national average for semis is 62-68 miles per hour. Walmart trucks can only run 65 miles per hour. These limits are put in place not only to for fuel efficiency, but for safety as well.

"We understand what you guys are thinking," said Stierwalt. "We've seen it all. I've seen the good, the bad and the really ugly stuff."

However, the team explained that although most major commercial semis do have limits, there are still some out there that do not. There are some, who Steirwalt called "Outlaws," who try to drive the routes as fast as possible and don't even safely check their vehicles before hitting the road.

"At Walmart we have to check our truck two times a day (before hitting the road and when they get to their destination)," Stierwalt said. "That includes tires, brakes, lights and the trailer. There's good truckers and there are bad ones."

Stierwalt also noted that those same Outlaws that he spoke of don't typically check their trucks and a lot of times they have broken or missing mirrors or parts falling off them for failure to take care of their equipment.

Between the three instructors during Friday morning's program nearly 12 million miles have been logged. Each has his own set of stories to tell. It's clear they have seen some of the worst on the road.

"We're giving future student drivers and opportunity to learn and be safe," said Lukenbill. "It really shows that Walmart is committed to safety. Our company and drivers have gone above and beyond to create an educational program for future drivers. Walmart has a commitment and philosophy to safety and community involvement. We only provide this service with the aspirations of our professional, passionate, and experienced drivers."

The team completes demonstrations all over Indiana, which are held outside with an actual semi tractor trailer. Students, like those at Greencastle, get a hands-on experience that teaches them about blind spots, which are experienced by everyone on the road especially truckers. All involved were able to sit in the cab of a semi and to look in the mirrors and see the view that these truckers have every day.

"We're proud of our record and our safety," said Stierwalt. "The best place to be is not near a semi."

The ongoing issue of texting and driving was also addressed by the team.

"It takes about three seconds to read a text," said Toole. "Your eyes are off the road for three seconds, that's nearly the length of a football field. You kids don't have a clue about what goes on up and down the road."

Once again, the team reiterated that it was not their job to be intimated the new young drivers, but to hopefully educated them and produce safer ones.

"It's a losing battle (distracted driving)," said Stierwalt. "All it's going to result in is a flat pancake of a smart car."

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