National Share the Road Highway Safety Program Visits Denver Auto Show

DENVER, March 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Life-saving highway driving tips were presented today as part of the American Trucking Associations' national Share the Road highway safety tour by top professional truck drivers.

The Denver Auto Show provided the perfect backdrop for the elite group of million mile accident-free drivers to share their message of road safety. According to the Colorado State Patrol, 534 lives were lost as a result of traffic crashes in Colorado during 2006.

The Denver, Colo., Share the Road stop demonstrated to drivers how to share the road safely with large trucks and is presented in conjunction with the Colorado Motor Carriers Association. The presentation will continue through Sunday evening, with specially scheduled "ride-alongs" available for Monday morning.

"Denver is a great city and we are glad to be here to help educate motorists on how to safely drive around tractor-trailers," said Steve Fields, a professional truck driver from Yellow Transportation. "I travel through Denver on my route to deliver the nation's essentials, so I feel like I am making a difference here with motorists I see on the highways. Hopefully attendees will leave the show with a better understanding of passing safely, maintaining a safe speed and keeping a minimum following distance, so we can all get home safely to our families."

Featured at today's event were professional truck drivers Steve Fields (Yellow Transportation), Manny Franco (UPS Freight), Ralph Garcia (ABF Freight System) and David May (Con-way Freight). Those drivers are members of an elite team of million-mile, accident-free truck drivers who deliver the trucking industry's safety messages across the country.

Franco told attendees and reporters at the event that, "Share the Road allows me as a truck driver to give people life-saving advice. Most automobile drivers were never taught what they can do to avoid an accident with a tractor-trailer. By being aware of the blind spots around trucks, all drivers can more easily avoid crashes. This information, and other safety advice, will help everyone to share the roads safely."

Today's presentation of Share the Road safety measures is important to Colorado motorists because:

-- 51 Colorado motorists were involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer in 2006 (Colorado State Patrol).

-- 35 percent of all truck-involved highway fatalities occur in a truck's blind spots (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration).

-- According to three different studies - including the AAA Traffic Safety Foundation and DOT, 3 out of 4 truck-involved fatalities are unintentionally initiated by car drivers.

The safety demonstration today at the Denver Auto Show will continue through Sun., with special arrangements available for a private demonstration or a highway "ride-along" for media Mon. morning. Reporters will be able to view safe merging and stopping distances from the truck driver's perspective, and learn up close and personal some of the differences between how cars and large trucks operate on the highways. Today's demonstration was designed to teach specific skills to motorists in order to drive safely around other automobiles and around trucks and large commercial vehicles on the highways, and to arrive safely at their destinations.

Share the Road is a highway safety outreach program of the American Trucking Associations that educates all drivers about sharing the roads safely with large trucks. An elite team of professional truck drivers with millions of accident-free miles deliver life-saving messages to millions of motorists annually. The safety program is sponsored by Mack Trucks, Inc. and Michelin North America, Inc. www.atastr.org.