DENVER, Colo. --- The American Trucking Associations' national "Share the Road" highway safety tour visited the Denver Auto Show on March 28, offering life-saving driving tips by top professional truck drivers.

The auto show provided the perfect backdrop for the elite group of million-mile, accident-free drivers to share their message of road safety, organizers said.

According to the Colorado State Patrol, 534 lives were lost as a result of traffic crashes in Colorado during 2006. The Denver "Share the Road" stop demonstrated to drivers how to share the road safely with large trucks and was presented in conjunction with the Colorado Motor Carriers Association.

"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 the 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."

A total of 51 Colorado motorists were involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer in 2006, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Administration, 35 percent of all truck-involved highway fatalities occur in a truck’s blind spots.

According to three different studies, including ones conducted by the AAA Traffic Safety Foundation and Department of Transportation, three out of four truck-involved fatalities are unintentionally initiated by car drivers. 

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.