VIDEO: New Service Truck to Help on I-95

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation on Tuesday unveiled a new Motorist Service Patrol vehicle as part of the announcement of a public-private sponsorship with State Farm Insurance designed to improve Interstate 95 safety and mobility, as well as save taxpayers time, fuel and operational expenses.

NHDOT and State Farm officials and employees were on hand to unveil the new truck at the Hampton toll plaza Tuesday afternoon, making several remarks about the benefits of the partnership and vehicle, which will service broken-down vehicles and motorists in need across the 16 miles of I-95 in New Hampshire as well as 14 miles of the Spaulding Turnpike (Route 16).

The above video captures some of those remarks, as well as the unveiling itself.

New Hampshire is the ninth state to partner with State Farm in this way, and is the first in New England to do so, according to State Farm.

Sam McClain, the vice president of Travelers Marketing, said the partnership isn’t a “conventional” one because NHDOT isn’t contracting someone in the private sector to do the work, but rather that “a private company is paying the public sector to advance public policy objectives.”

McClain said it’s also fitting that State Farm is involved in the partnership, since he said the decision fits right into the company’s “Get to a Better State” slogan.

“You’re in a bad state if you’re stranded [on the highway], but you know if one of these trucks pull up behind you with its lights on, you know you’re going to get to a better state,” said McClain.

More information about the MSP vehicle and program is available on the NHDOT website.