CEMEX USA continued its mission of promoting road safety this past weekend, participating in the Arizona Bicycling Summit and holding its first Arizona-based Safer Roads Together event in Mesa, at the 29th Annual El Tour de Mesa, an annual cycling event that benefits dozens of local charities.
CEMEX opened the cab of a mixer truck outside the Mesa Convention Center Saturday, April 6, near the start and finish line of the tour, so more than 2,000 cyclists participating in the annual ride had the opportunity to climb into the seat to learn what truck drivers see when behind the wheel. The unique truck access is a hallmark of firm's Safer Roads Together initiative designed to give cyclists and pedestrians a better understanding of how to stay safer when they are on the streets. In addition, CEMEX employees handed out pamphlets with suggested safety guidelines, while providing items like water bottles for the riders.
“When it comes to safety on the roads, we all need to work together to make sure that accidents are avoided,” said CEMEX Regional President and participant Eric Wittmann. “Safer Roads Together was created to help reinforce the message of safety and make it a priority for everyone from drivers, to cyclists and pedestrians. We are not just dedicated to the safety of our people, we want to empower people in our communities to think about safety when they are on
the streets, so they can make decisions that can save lives.”
According to the latest statistics from the National Transportation Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), close to 800 cyclists and nearly 6,000 pedestrians died in traffic accidents in 2017, down slightly from the year prior.
CEMEX has held three other Safer Roads Together events across the U.S. this year, including one last month at Bike MS: Los Angeles 2019 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
The company has hosted more than 10 Safer Roads Together events since the initiative began in 2017. Another event is planned in Texas in a few weeks.