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Truckers Against Trafficking

LIMESTONE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — When truck drivers are on the road, they stay overnight at truck stops all over the country. Sometimes these drivers encounter u...

LIMESTONE TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- When truck drivers are on the road, they stay overnight at truck stops all over the country. Sometimes these drivers encounter underage girls who are in dangerous situations.

Truckers Against Trafficking is an event held all over the country. On Wednesday, employees at Great Dane Trucking near Danville toured the traveling display. It teaches people in the trucking industry what to do if they ever encounter a human trafficking situation.

When truck drivers are on the job, they are paying attention to the road and their deliveries. But in recent years, they've started paying attention to something else: human trafficking.

John McKown is a UPS freight driver and was approached by a teenage girl one night while at a truck stop.

"Instead of helping or doing what I should do, I just said, 'No, thank you,' and just went back to bed," John McKown said.

Recently, McKown went through training called "Truckers Against Trafficking." This traveling exhibit educates the trucking community about reporting human trafficking.

This week it is at Great Dane Trucking near Danville.

"Drivers are out on the road. They can be our eyes and ears to report trafficking in ways that police just aren't in those places," Helen Van Dam said.

Great Dane employees walked through the exhibit, which provides a glimpse into the realities of human trafficking, and how drivers can help.

"It blew my mind. It really hit home. I have small children," Buddy Harris said.

"It's sad that people do these things," Amy Snyder said.

Organizers say since Truckers Against Trafficking started in the last decade, they've gotten more than 2,000 calls into the human trafficking tip-line from truckers alone.

"That's led to the recovery of over 1,000 individuals," Van Dam said.

"I didn't know that I could call a hotline, but now I do. I got trained by Truckers Against Trafficking," McKown said.

For more information on Truckers Against Trafficking, click here.

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