Statements

Mission

Tennessee Trucking Foundation (TTF), the 501(c)3 charitable arm of Tennessee Trucking Association (TTA), is dedicated to: Advancing highway safety by educating the public on how to safely share the road with large trucks and commercial vehicles; providing Tennessee children's charities with funds; and assisting TTA members and their children in pursuing degrees in higher education.

Background

Tennessee Trucking Foundation was created in 1993 in order to operate four community programs: Tennessee's Road Team, a highway safety education program; Teens & Trucks Share the Road, highway safety education curriculum; Big Rigs for Little Kids, a series of golf tournaments raising money for Tennessee's children's charities; and the Scholarship Fund, providing financial assistance for members and their children to attend college. The Big Rigs for Little Kids has donated over $1.6 million to charities, including East Tennessee Children's Hospital, Ronald McDonald House and Make a Wish Foundation.

Impact

The goal of the Tennessee Road Team is to reduce the number of motor vehicle crashes involving large trucks and commercial vehicles through information and education programs. The latest numbers for large truck crashes show the numbers are down.

Needs

We have 33 Road Team Captains. Funding was down during Covid, so now we are looking for additional funding to cover the expense of maintaining our safety programs in TN schools and supporting The Foundation's children's charities: Ronald McDonald House (Nashville), East Tennessee Children's Hospital (Knoxville), Shriners Hospital (Chattanooga), The Make A Wish Foundation (Memphis) and Ronald McDonald House (Memphis).

CEO Statement

Having worked my prior career for a motor carrier, I understand the importance of sharing the road safely with large trucks and commercial vehicles. Large trucks do not operate like cars. They are so large that accelerating, slowing down and stopping take more time and much more space than any other vehicle on the road. Motor vehicle crashes are the single biggest killer of teenagers -- more than AIDS, street violence and drug use combined. Research shows that too many drivers of passenger cars, especially young people ages 17 to 24 years old, unnecessarily endanger themselves by failing to recognize that trucks and cars differ in their handling characteristics. As a result, nearly 70% of traffic crashes involving large trucks and passenger cars are the fault of the car driver. Tennessee's Road Team Highway Safety Education Program will help reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents involving large trucks and the impact on the community will be to save lives. Our goal is to create a safe driving environment and save lives on Tennessee's roadways by educating motorists on how to safely share the road with large trucks and commercial vehicles.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Education  - Educational Services
Secondary Category:	Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness and Relief  - Safety Education
Tertiary Category:	Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness and Relief  - Automotive Safety

Areas Served

Entire State of Tennessee.

TN