Force of a decelerating object

An object that is moving forward is decelerating by 7.51m/s^2. What is it's force in the positive direction at the moment it is travelling 5.71 m/s??

I know F=m*a But since the object is still moving forward but the acceleration is negative, how do I answer this? The object must still have a forward force right? If a truck hits you while it is decelerating it is still gonna hurt.

An object decelerates because there is a resultant force (F) acting on it in the opposite direction to its velocity. The object doesn't possess a force of its own, so you can't talk about 'the force OF a decelerating object'.

So your question should be:
"Force on a decelerating object?
An object that is moving forward is decelerating by 7.51m/s^2. What is the resultant force on the object in the positive direction at the moment it is travelling 5.71 m/s?? "

Well the speed makes no difference. But you need to know the mass of the object. Suppose the mass m = 10kg for example.

The acceleration must be in the opposite direction to the velocity in order for the speed to reduce. So accelerations' direction is to the left , i.e negative.
a = -7.51m/s^2

F = ma
= 10 x - 7.51
= -75.1N (i,e the force acts left, which is the negative direction)