How safe is that truck next to you? The true answer is very safe.

Big rigs account for 17 per cent of all road miles, and only three per cent of fatalities.

This means the average big rig is five times safer than the average vehicle on the road.

Most truck drivers are dedicated professionals who take pride in their safe driving and the proper condition of their trucks.

Inspectors target trucks that they think are more likely to fail an inspection, recognizing that most trucks will pass easily.

Most of those trucks that are “ordered off the road” are merely ordered to replace a burned-out sidelight or to correct some other minor fault, and are not found to have unsafe mechanical condition.

Truckers are once again protesting the high cost of fuel. Last month, many of them tried to drive home the point to congress, some are doing it again.

This time it’s on a local level. More than a dozen drivers parked their big rigs in Vanceboro to send a message to lawmakers about the high cost of diesel fuel.

They say they’re losing profits and emptying their wallets to fill up their tanks.

Levis Lane has been a truck driver for almost 30 years and he says this is the worst he’s ever seen.

Levis says he spends more than eight hundred dollars filling up his tank. Other drivers tell us they’ve spent as much as 12 hundred dollars on diesel fuel.

Truckers are like motorcycle riders in the way that they invariably customize their rides. It’s probably just as challenging to find a bone stock tractor as it is an unembellished Fat Boy. When you’re plying the roads as much as the Big rigs do, why not have some fun and stand apart from the rest of the crowd and their mudflaps decorated with conformist chrome silhouettes of questionable taste? International’s new LoneStar truck will be factory trickable with a new line of Navistar accessories called DoubleSix Customs. While the Autoblog Garage isn’t quite big enough to hold an 18-wheeler, we did dedicate the better part of an hour to International’s website designing the perfect vehicle for hauling our tricked out fleet of Zastavas.

With International’s online configurator, you can start with a basic truck and add a splash of color, a dollop of flames, lots of chrome, and nearly as many lights as Vegas. The DoubleSix name takes its inspiration from the mother road, Route 66, which International is hoping still resonates with those who keep our economy rolling. Our only problem? Lack of the proper license. Try it yourself, you can even upload logos and graphics to design your perfect LoneStar.