ATLANTA --- Life-saving highway driving tips were presented as part of the American Trucking Associations' national Share the Road highway safety tour by top professional truck drivers.

The Georgia High School Semi-Final Basketball Tournament provided the backdrop for the million-mile accident-free drivers to share their message of road safety.

According to the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, over 1,700 lives were lost as a result of traffic crashes in Georgia during 2006. The Share the Road stop in Atlanta demonstrated to drivers how to share the road safely with large trucks. The presentation included "ride-alongs." 

"It's great to be at the Georgia High School Semi-Final Basketball Tournament," said Dennis Day, a professional truck driver from Conway Freight. "Being from Lawrenceville, I am very happy to help educate the motoring public that I interact with everyday. Hopefully, we'll teach the attendees the importance 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 Dennis Day (Conway Freight) and Jerry Avossa (FedEx Freight). These 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.

Avossa told attendees: "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."

The presentation of Share the Road safety measures is important to motorists because:

-- 31 motorists die each week on Georgia highways (Governor's Office of Highway Safety)

-- 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 studies from 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.