Rising fuel costs have pushed the price of airline tickets up and left many people looking to take short driving vacations this summer.

That means more cars on the roadways.

The National Safety Council is warning motorists to be particularly wary of trucks on the highways.

One of every nine traffic fatalities involves a truck.

It's a statistic one Superior trucking company is working hard to improve as LeAnn Wallace reports.

Summer means vacation for many American families...Unfortunately it also means an increase in automobile accidents.

As more cars on the road Halvor Lines Trucking Company in Superior is working to ensure all 4-hundred of their drivers have safety uppermost in their minds.

"We go through a 3-day orientation process and safety training and awareness, and the driver is expected to be committed to that process throughout their employment career."

Part of that training is the use of a truck simulator.

It's a unique state of the art training program and Halvor Lines is the only company in the area that uses it.

"From a safe seat the driver can practice his defensive driving skills, emergency maneuvers, see first hand some of the weather conditions as they change, road conditions as they change, and adjust his driving to that."

"Since getting this truck simulator in 2006, Halvor Lines has seen a 50-percent reduction of both accidents and incidents."

I learned first hand that driving an 80-thousand pound tractor trailer can be a difficult task.

:::crash:::

Ray Pearson, Halvor Line's fleet support manager says assuming a truck driver can see you is the number one cause of trucking accidents.

"60-percent of accidents involving a truck with a car or another truck is because a truck is changing lanes and doesn't see the individual beside them."

Mirrors are in place around trucks to help reduce the risk of an accident but they don't completely eliminate dangerous blind spots.

"You've got one huge blind spot on the right hand side of the vehicle, it runs from the nose of the tractor to about midpoint on the trailer."

Truck drivers recommend keeping a safe following distance, not pulling in front of other cars or trucks, and maintaining a safe speed.

"We've all got to get along on the road together."

In Superior, LeAnn Wallace, the Northlands News Center.

For more tips on staying safe on the road this summer visit our website.