Steve Williams Featured in New Documentary About Highways and Truckers
Washington, D.C.
An audience of 100 policymakers recently had the opportunity to view a new documentary film about the nation’s deteriorating interstate highways and the truckers who must travel them. The film Be Prepared to Stop was sponsored by Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) at an invitation-only event held at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center theater.
“In November, voters across the country will cast ballots on transportation investments in their communities,” Blumenauer said. “This documentary provides a needed call to action that Congress should heed, as it has failed to provide sustainable funding to rebuild and renew America.”
The film features interviews with a host of transportation stakeholders intertwined with the personal family story of Steve Williams, a third generation trucker from Little Rock, Arkansas. The son and grandson of truck drivers, Williams, is Chairman and CEO of Maverick USA, among the largest 100 freight carriers in the United States.
But his current quests also include being president of The Trucking Alliance, a Washington D.C. coaltion of freight transportation companies that are advocating for policies to reduce accidents and improve the working conditions of truck drivers. Williams believes Congress can do two things – repair the nation’s interstate highways and reduce the safety risks associated with sharing the roadways with large tractor trailers.
“My company has spent tens of millions of dollars on safety technology over the years to help ensure that our drivers make it home to their families while delivering the ‘quality of life’ to which Americans have grown accustomed,” Williams said. “Unfortunately our industry and our infrastructure have been taken for granted. It’s already too late for too many. It is time for real action.”
Jennifer Clymer and Marijane Miller, the two Los Angeles based filmmakers, said the film’s messages need to be told.
“All films need to be entertaining. A good documentary needs to be informative. We knew a documentary about a less-than-sexy topic such as infrastructure would have to be both if we were going to reach a general audience,” Clymer said. “We’ve shared this film with a few preview audiences, and just like tonight I always enjoy hearing the laughs in the right spots and the quiet when you know people are really listening. And I love it when people say to me two days later, ‘I’m still thinking about the film. I even drive differently now around big trucks.’”
Following the film’s screening, Williams was joined by Federal Highway Administrator Gregory
G. Nadeau; Brian Burton, General Counsel and Secretary for Daimler Trucks North America and Jackie Gillan, President of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety to discuss the condition of our Interstate Highway System, future technologies, safety issues, and how to engage the general public in this vital discussion that impacts every aspect of their daily lives.
Clymer said that discussions to distribute the film nationally are currently underway.