Law enforcement officers in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. will be on the lookout for commercial motor vehicle and passenger vehicle drivers engaging in unsafe driving behaviors during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Operation Safe Driver Week, which this year is set for July 9-15.
Those exhibiting unsafe driving behaviors will be pulled over and given a warning and/or issued a ticket/citation by law enforcement, CVSA said.
The weeklong driver safety traffic enforcement and awareness campaign aims to identify unsafe drivers, deter dangerous driving behaviors, and prompt positive driving habits through officer interactions with drivers. Data shows that traffic stops and interactions with law enforcement help reduce problematic driving behaviors.
Unsafe driver behaviors include speeding; improper lane changes, passing or turns; driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol; using a handheld device; and failure to wear a seat belt.
Last year, officers stopped 35,000 commercial motor vehicle and passenger drivers in the U.S. and Canada, and issued 26,164 warnings and citations for unsafe driving behavior in the U.S. and Canada combined—with speeding as the top violation. And speeding once again will be the focus of this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week.
“CVSA has continued to focus on speeding because it remains a persistent problem on our roadways,” the Alliance said in a news release. “Speeding increases the frequency and severity of crashes, and unsafe speeds are a well-documented factor in fatalities and injuries.”
Last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched its National Roadway Safety Strategy, a comprehensive approach to significantly reducing serious injuries and deaths on highways, roads, and streets. Part of the department’s Safe System Approach is to promote safer speeds in all roadway environments through targeted education, outreach campaigns, and enforcement. CVSA’s Operation Safe Driver program supports this strategy through its focus on speeding, and other unsafe driving behaviors, during the weeklong traffic enforcement initiative and its continued commitment to improving roadway safety through driver safety education and interactions with law enforcement.
In addition to traffic enforcement, driver safety education and awareness is a key component of the Operation Safe Driver program. CVSA is offering Operation Safe Driver Week postcards at no cost to its industry and enforcement members. The postcards are available in English, French and Spanish.
