Documentary warns of highway neglect

Logistics professionals have long struggled to get the word out about the risks posed by the nation's failing infrastructure, but sometimes it seems America just doesn't want to hear the message. Now, a group of filmmakers are hoping to get through.

Los Angeles-based Delaware Park Productions Inc. has released "Be Prepared to Stop," a documentary film that looks at our dependence on the great American highways, the perilous condition of those assets, and the potential consequences of a catastrophic breakdown. The film made its debut on Amazon March 30 and will be available on iTunes by the end of April.

According to the filmmakers, America's "check engine light" is on. As a result of years of neglect, roads and bridges are failing, and safety concerns are mounting. If conditions deteriorate to the point where trucks can no longer get through, our supplies of food, drinking water, medicine, fuel, and other daily necessities would be depleted within just five days, they say. "Be Prepared to Stop" is intended to raise awareness of the threat of an impending breakdown and how it would obstruct the U.S. economy and adversely affect the daily lives of all Americans.

"My grandfather was a truck driver and taught me to respect the professionals driving the rigs hauling everything we rely upon for our way of life," Jennifer Clymer, the film's co-director and executive producer, said in a release. "I am incredibly alarmed about the poor state of our highway system and the lack of understanding about how dependent we are on the freight transportation industry. I don't think the average person knows just how much we rely on the movement of goods and commodities and how fast this country would shut down if that were in any way impinged upon."

Watch a two-minute preview below. Options for watching the complete movie are on the film's website.