The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced a new safety-focused campaign called “Our Roads, Our Responsibility” designed to raise public awareness about how to operate safely around large trucks and buses.

“Trucks and buses move people and goods around the country, contributing to our economic well-being and our way of life,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx when he announced the new program.

“These commercial vehicles also carry additional safety risks, so it’s critical that all road users understand how to safely share the road,” he stressed.

Almost 12 million commercial motor vehicles are registered to operate in the United States, and in 2014, drivers logged around 300 billion miles on the nation’s roads, DOT points out.

The program emphasizes that large trucks and buses have significant size and weight differences, large blind spots, longer stopping distances and limited maneuverability, which present serious safety challenges for bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers of passenger vehicles.

“Our Roads, Our Responsibility supports our agency’s core mission of reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving commercial motor vehicles on our roadways,” says FMCSA Administrator Scott Darling.

“Roadway safety is a shared responsibility, and this initiative encourages everyone who uses our roads to be champions for safety,” he declares “We look forward to working with all our partners to raise awareness around this issue."

Visit the website www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ourroads for additional information on how you can participate.