“Big Wheels, Little Kids” program gets a lot of Help at Alvaton Elementary School

RJ Taylor’s excellent truck driving skills were put to the test when he arrived at Alvaton Elementary School during the early morning hours of March 16, 2004. Since ‘Ol’ Blue’ was a little large for the school’s entrance, some fancy maneuvering was necessary through a neighboring parking lot and in the school’s lot to avoid campus trees and landscaping. The excited, cheerful faces of nearly 500 students made the trip well worthwhile. Mr. Mark Rathbun, Principal, welcomed Ol’ Blue, USA® to his campus and immediately began assisting with program coordination and student supervision.

A Warren County Sheriff’s Department vehicle was placed 33 feet in front of ‘Ol’ Blue’ to show the distance needed to see brake lights on a car, and a Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement cruiser was positioned in a blind spot on the driver’s side of ‘Ol’ Blue’ where it could only be seen in ‘Ol’ Blue’s small, 5-inch mirror.

Safety team member Ms. Beverly Steele and law enforcement representatives assisting RJ with the educational program included Warren County Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Meyer (left) and Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement Officer Jeff Jewell (right).

A Warren County school bus served to instruct students of the various types of large vehicles on our roadways. These vehicles include motor homes, travel trailers, school buses and commercial vehicles, any vehicle requiring a large side mirror.

WBKO Television Reporter, Ms. Lauren Hanson, became a vital part of a safety demonstration by assisting RJ in pinpointing blind spots from the driver’s seat of ‘Ol’ Blue’. She had to apply the big rig’s brakes numerous times during the stopping distance segment of the program, and Ms. Hanson was delighted to sound the air horn. WBKO Television obtained wonderful film footage of the “Big Wheels, Little Kids” program and produced a fantastic “Children First” news segment that aired several times during the Ol’ Blue, USA’s visits in Bowling Green. You can view this wonderful film footage at http://www.olblueusa.org/video/streaming/WBKO2004.html

Thanks to WBKO’s news team for joining our team in, “People Working Together for Highway Safety”®.

Under the Ol’ Blue, USA program, “Big Wheels, Little Kids” school visitation program takes ‘Ol’ Blue’ to schools to give students an up close and personal view of the safety considerations around large vehicles, car drivers, bicycles, and pedestrians.