In The News
Almost 60,000 warnings, citations issued during Operation Safe Driver Week
GREENBELT, Md. — A total of 59,193 warnings and citations were given to commercial vehicle drivers and passenger vehicle drivers during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Operation Safe Driver Week October 15-21.
CVSA is a nonprofit association comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial and federal commercial motor vehicle safety officials and industry representatives. It aims to achieve uniformity, compatibility and reciprocity of commercial motor vehicle inspections and enforcement by certified inspectors dedicated to driver and vehicle safety. Its mission is to improve commercial motor vehicle safety and uniformity throughout Canada, Mexico and the United States by providing guidance and education to enforcement, industry and policy makers.
During Operation Safe Driver Week, law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada increased roadway traffic safety enforcement and education to address dangerous driving behaviors by CMV drivers and passenger vehicle drivers.
The top five warnings/citations issued to CMV drivers were:
- State/local moving violations — 84.2 percent (of warnings/citations)
- Speeding — 7.4 percent
- Failure to use seat belt — 2.6 percent
- Failure to obey traffic control device — 2.5 percent
- Using a Handheld Phone — 0.8 percent
The top five warnings/citations issued to passenger vehicle drivers were:
- Speeding — 43.5 percent
- State/local moving violations — 36.2 percent
- Failure to Use Seat Belt —9.4 percent
- Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device — 2.3 percent
- Improper Lane Change — 1.5 percent
Mooney release data that provided a closer look at this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week traffic enforcement results:
- A total of 38,878 citations/warnings were issued to CMV drivers.
- A total of 20,315 citations/warnings were issued to passenger vehicle drivers.
- 30,714 warnings and 8,164 citations were recorded for CMV drivers.
- 7,785 warnings and 12,530 citations were recorded for passenger vehicle drivers.
- 43.5 percent of passenger vehicle driver warnings/citations were issued for speeding, versus 7.4 percent CMV driver warnings/citations.
- When it comes to distracted driving, 0.1 percent of CMV driver warnings/citations were for texting and 0.8 percent were for using a handheld phone. For passenger vehicle drivers, 0.7 percent of warnings/citations were for texting and 0.5 percent were for using a handheld phone.
- For both CMV drivers (2.6 percent) and passenger vehicle drivers (9.4 percent) failure to wear a seat belt was the third most cited traffic enforcement violation for each group.
- Less than one percent of warnings/citations for CMV drivers (0.6 percent) and passenger vehicle drivers (0.9 percent) were for following too closely.
- 16 CMV drivers received a warning/citation for using/equipping a CMV with a radar detector.
- A small percentage of warnings/citations were for inattentive or careless driving — 0.2 percent of CMV drivers and 1.3 percent of passenger vehicle drivers.
- 19 CMV drivers received a citation for operating their vehicle while ill or fatigued; 86 received a warning.
CVSA Executive Director Collin Mooney noted that according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Highway Loss Data Institute, 3,852 people died in large truck crashes in 2015.
Sixteen percent of those deaths were truck occupants, 69 percent were occupants of passenger vehicles. Many of those crashes were the direct result of driver behavior.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration “Large Truck Crash Causation Study” cites driver behavior as the critical reason for more than 88 percent of large truck crashes and 93 percent of passenger vehicle crashes.
“Countless lives are tragically lost on our roadways due to unsafe, risky, inattentive or careless acts by drivers,” Mooney said. “In fact, driver behavior is often the most important factor in crashes. Operation Safe Driver Week raises awareness about safe driver operations in and around trucks and buses.”
Mooney said the Operation Safe Driver Program aims to combat the number of deaths and injuries resulting from crashes involving large trucks, buses and passenger vehicles through educational and enforcement strategies in an effort to improve the driving behaviors of all drivers operating in an unsafe manner, either in or around commercial motor vehicles.