July 11-17 is Operation Safe Driver Week, where law enforcement officials will be on the lookout for commercial and personal drivers engaging in risky or unsafe practices. Any who are pulled over by law enforcement is to be given a warning or citation.
According to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), “By making contact with drivers during Operation Safe Driver Week, law enforcement personnel aim to make our roadways safer by targeting high-risk driving behaviors.”
This year, the main focus is on speeding. Over the 2020 pandemic, traffic fatalities increased across the nation by 24%, despite miles driven dropping by 13%. The CVSA, partnered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) wants to focus on speeding because of this increase in traffic fatalities.
Their focus on speeding is due to:
- Speeding has been a factor in more than 25% of collision deaths since 2008.
- For commercial motor vehicles and passenger vehicles, any kind of speeding is the most frequent factor in driver-related crashes.
- For 26% of all traffic deaths in 2018, speeding was a factor.
The CVSA is specifically focused on driver behaviors, as driver’s actions or negligence account for 94% of traffic crashes.
Their program hopes to educate and warn commercial vehicle drivers specifically to be aware of the challenges and dangers associated with the road, specifically distracted driving, personal vehicles cutting off commercial vehicles, aggressive driving, and more.
More information about the CVSA, Operation Safe Driver Week, and their goals can be found at https://www.cvsa.org/programs/operation-safe-driver/. They have readily available printable materials for commercial vehicle operators.
Be safe out there.
Source: CVSA
Have the government not even concerned how erratic the 4 wheelers drive around a semi truck? They cut you off just to exit off, they will even run on the grass just to get in front of you they even will just about run into road barriers they are always on the their phones you can look down and see them all day long. If the government would get serious about stopping the 4 wheelers fro playing with this 80.000 truck, Truckers only holds ONO steering wheel at a time, do something about the ones that’s holding phones and speeding. Truckers are not the blame for everything. So why punish some and not all go after them to make examples out of the. Setup times like you do for truckers and just pull over 4 wheelers, Maybe they would stop some of this stuff. Give a big ticket hit them in their pockets. Whe start messing with their money they will listen, you can show them better than you can tell them. I know states have lo money during this pandemic, well get some of it back, get out their and watch how they drive at a semi truck and make your state some money, because that’s what it is all about anyway
I’m a trucker of 48 years. The industry has changed drastically. I really hate to say this, but truckers today are horrible. I’m old school and most of the old school drivers can’t wait to retire. The US has a whole lot of foreign drivers, most don’t speak English or won’t speak it. They speed, they tailgate, they cut you off, they pull in front of you off shoulder without looking,I see them playing games on their phones driving even watching tv while driving, they have their feet on the dashboard they drive barefoot or with flip-flops, they throw trash out their windows, they destroy truck stops by urinating on the blacktop. I’m not perfect, I do use a bottle, but it’s covered and I empty it either in a toilet or on the grass. I definitely do not litter. Truckers now a day have a bad rap, we are not all bad, and women truckers are not all bad either. Trucker shortage today is mostly because of shippers and receivers, they don’t care about our e-logs, most won’t let a driver park on their lots, the parking situation is out of control, some drivers say you have to manage your time to park, it doesn’t always work that way, the law enforcement has eased off on drivers I think, but I believe it’s starting to get tough again. To many drivers just don’t care about safety anymore, you see a lot of trucks on the roads today look like they are ready for the junk yard. I see bald tires. My company don’t use recaps, we have issues too but my truck is full of safety gizmos. Some of them are unsafe for me and to the public. The bendix breaking system is horrible. It’ll apply brakes to stop if a vehicle pulls in front of you or slows down, it reads speed limit sign, if your going over the speed limit it’ll slow the truck down to that speed immediately, god help those who tailgate. Out units will not tailgate, our trucks are designed to stay at least 6 seconds away from vehicles ahead of you. Times have changed and drivers need to change as well. Be safe drivers