Driver Education students keep on trucking

Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, November 2, 2006

Conway Central truck driver David May allowed students from the Orleans/Niagara BOCES Driver Education program to get the feel of what it’s like to be a truck driver as part of his recent presentation to students.

Driver Education students at Orleans/Niagara Board of Cooperative Educational Services received some hands-on lessons about sharing the road with trucks, thanks to the New York State Motor Truck Association and Conway Central driver David May.

As part of instructor Paul Zuccari’s Driver Education program, students were visited Oct. 11 at their Sanborn site on Saunders Settlement Road by May and his tractor trailer and presented a program titled “Sharing the Road.”

“Drivers often do not realize the limitations of trucks and truck drivers, and yet they make up a large number of vehicles on the road. It’s critical for students to realize that truck drivers may not even see them if they are driving in a blind spot, as well as a number of other conditions,” said Zuccari, who invites the Truck Association drivers to visit his students each semester.

Students had the unique opportunity to listen to professional truckers as they talk about sharing the road with new drivers, as well as the chance to “tour” an 18-wheeler and learn about the trucking industry.

The program is part of Orleans/Niagara BOCES’ Driving School, which is run each semester and in the summer as part of BOCES’ Instructional Services Department.