The American Trucking Associations officials warned motorists and truck drivers to use caution and prepare as two dangerous storms converge near the mid-Atlantic region. Weather forecasters predict that the massive storm will make landfall on the New Jersey coast around 8 pm Tuesday, October 30, but the storm will impact northeastern states from Maryland to Maine.
"With weather forecasters and emergency management officials already sounding the alarm about the potential for widespread damage from Hurricane Sandy and a possible early winter storm, we are asking all motorists and truckers to use appropriate caution and common sense," ATA President and CEO Bill Graves says. "There's no delivery, no errand that is worth putting yourself or others in danger."
Graves said with two storms converging over very populated areas, it was important for drivers to follow the directions of emergency management personnel over the course of the next few days. "As a former governor, I know that government officials do not issue these warnings lightly, so if you're advised to avoid an area or evacuate, do so quickly and in an orderly fashion," Graves says.
Once the storms pass, Graves said the trucking industry would immediately begin working with officials on relief and recovery efforts. "Trucks deliver life's most essential goods every day, and those goods are never more needed than after a natural disaster," he says. "When the skies clear and the waters recede, trucks will begin to deliver the fuel, food, and other critical relief supplies to those areas in need."
For more information, ATA encourages people to visit Ready.gov or http://www.redcross.org/. Also, for carriers interested in assisting in post-incident relief efforts, please visit the American Logistics Aid Network at http://www.alanaid.org/ or go to trucking.org.