Arlington, Virginia — Today, the American Trucking Associations announced it is launching a new media and advocacy campaign highlighting the personal toll of the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure and renewing the trucking industry’s demand that the federal government step up its investment in our nation’s roads and bridges.
The campaign includes a new television commercial, which will begin airing in the Washington, D.C. market this week, with additional markets to follow and a paid digital component. The ad will also be highlighted on a campaign website – Roadtoabetterfuture.com – which includes other informational resources that illustrate the time and money motorists are losing due to poor infrastructure. The site and the commercial encourage the public to call on their congressional representatives to take action, because “life won’t wait.”
“The dismal state of our nation’s roads and bridges forces the average commuter to waste 42 hours a year sitting in traffic,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “Between time lost and the $1600 in vehicle damage and wasted gas the average American is saddled with, we are no longer at the brink – we are living in a crisis situation. The ATA is launching this campaign to highlight the very personal impact of poor roads and the urgency necessary for Congress and the Administration to take action.”
The ad, titled “Life Won’t Wait” follows three storylines: a dad trying to make it to his son’s baseball game; a mother rushing to get to a welcome home ceremony for her son, who is active-duty military; and a husband who receives a call that his wife is in labor and needs to get to the hospital. In all three scenarios – urban and rural – the individuals are frustratingly unable to make it to these important life events due to either traffic congestion or a road being closed due to deterioration.
“What’s often missing from the infrastructure debate in Washington is the appreciation of the human toll and how the issue of crumbling roads and bridges impacts virtually every American, often with unfortunate consequences,” said Spear.
The ad is the first step of an effort that will also bring 18 state trucking associations – representing 2.6 million workers and millions of commuters – to Washington – local events highlighting the country’s worst traffic bottlenecks, op-eds, and a social media campaign.
ATA, along with a broad coalition of interests representing America’s business and labor communities, has been leading the call for an increase in the federal fuel user fee to fund desperately-needed road and bridge repairs and maintenance.
“The Baltimore-Washington Parkway is just a stone’s throw from Capitol Hill and a significant road that thousands of commuters use each day,” Spear said. “The road is in such bad shape that the government’s solution is not to repair the road, but to reduce the speed limit so drivers can move to avoid the many potholes that mark its length. Not only is this unacceptable – it is avoidable. Now is the time for our elected leaders to show the courage to do their job and properly fund our infrastructure, and our campaign aims to highlight the consequences of doing nothing.”
For more about ATA’s new campaign, and for more details on how the trucking industry is stepping up to help solve the infrastructure crisis, go to Roadtoabetterfuture.com.