ATA Infrastructure Campaign Goes Direct to the Heart

“Between time lost and the $1,600 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,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear.

The campaign includes a new television commercial that will begin airing in the Washington, D.C., area this week, followed by additional markets and a paid digital component. The ad titled “Life Won’t Wait” follows a young husband trying to get to his wife who is in labor, a mom rushing to attend a welcome home party for her son, and a dad who promised to be there for his son’s baseball game. In each storyline, the individuals fail to make it to the important life events due to either traffic congestion or roads closed from 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 will be highlighted on the campaign website– Roadtoabetterfuture.com  – which includes information resources that illustrate the time and money motorists are losing due to poor infrastructure.

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, said ATA. The group will sponsor local events highlighting the country’s worst traffic bottlenecks, op-eds, and a social media campaign.

ATA, along with a coalition of business and labor communities, is leading the effort to increase the federal fuel tax to fund desperately needed road and bridge repair 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.