The America's Road Team has an important new asset in its campaign for truck safety: a Volvo VN 780 equipped with the company's leading safety technologies -- and Volvo's No-Regen Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology.

America's Road Team, sponsored by Volvo Trucks North America, is a national public outreach program led by a group of professional truck drivers who share superior driving skills, remarkable safety records and a strong desire to spread the word about safety on our nation's highways. American Trucking Associations created America's Road Team in 1986 to reach out to the trucking industry and the motoring public.

ATA kicked off the 2011-2012 America's Road Team with the selection of 18 Captains at a special event held at ATA headquarters in Arlington, Va., Jan. 9 to 11. The newly selected America's Road Team Captains then traveled to Volvo's New River Valley facility in Dublin, Va.

During a dedication ceremony at NRV, with the Road Team Captains looking on, Patrick Collignon, general manager of the plant, and Ron Huibers, Volvo senior vice president, sales and marketing, turned over the truck to Bill Graves, president and CEO of the ATA, and ATA Chairman, Barbara Windsor, President and CEO of Hahn Transportation in New Market, Md. The captains then learned about key features of the vehicle, including Volvo SCR, delivering a five percent or more fuel efficiency improvement and near-zero NOx and particulate emissions without the use of emissions credits, and three key safety and productivity technologies: Volvo I-Shift, Volvo Enhanced Stability Technology and Volvo Enhanced Cruise.

"With safety as a core value, Volvo Trucks is proud to be associated with the dedicated professional drivers that make up America's Road Team, and to give them a powerful new tool for accomplishing their mission," Huibers said. "We're extremely grateful to Bill Graves, Barbara Windsor and all of the captains for taking the time to visit our NRV plant, where we're committed to setting a new standard for industrial production. We particularly enjoyed sharing with them all of the safety technologies built into our trucks -- something we call safety by design -- making a world of difference to truck drivers, their families and all motorists."

"At ATA, we believe that education is the key to making our roads safer for everyone," Graves said. "With Volvo Trucks' ongoing support, we have been able to bring America's Road Team programs across the country and positively affect countless lives. With the new Volvo VN 780, our drivers will be able to show how the technology in trucks today is providing additional safety and greater peace of mind."

More info: www.americasroadteam.com.