This year’s Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) was the largest thus far, in terms of both size and attendance. Renovations to the Kentucky Exposition Center, the site for the annual event, bolstered the facility to more than 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space. The show featured 1,174 exhibitors representing 47 states and 12 countries, and nearly 76,600 attendees, making it the largest heavy duty trucking event in history. Here are some highlights of the news and developments from MATS.

National Work Zone Awareness Week, a national campaign intended to help increase public awareness of work zone safety, is being observed this month. The theme for this year’s ninth annual event is “Slow for the Cone Zone.”

The economy will be a consideration for every business market this year, and carbonated soft drinks have a particularly difficult situation increasing revenue with the category’s pricing predicament.

Encountering “crazed” drivers has, sadly, become a regular occurrence, which is making driving even more perilous. These drivers — on four-wheels as well as trucks — exhibit aggressive and reckless driving behavior that endangers themselves and others.