Operation Safe Driver Week is an annual safe-driving awareness and outreach initiative created by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. The week-long program is aimed at detecting and preventing unsafe behaviors on the road from passenger vehicle drivers and commercial motor vehicle drivers.
This year’s focus will be on speeding. The CVSA’s reasoning for selecting this topic is due to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHSTA) annual traffic crash report, which showed that speed-related fatalities increased by 17%.
Law enforcement personnel will also be on the lookout for drivers engaging in other high-risk driving behaviors:
- Engaging in reckless or aggressive driving
- Being distracted while driving
- Following too closely
- Conducting improper lane changes
- Failing to obey traffic control devices
- Neglecting to use a seat belt
- Driving while under the influence
Apart from heightened traffic safety enforcement, Operation Safe Driver Week also calls for increased education and awareness of safe driving practices. Crash statistics show how important this message is to public safety:
- Speeding has been a factor in more than a quarter of crash deaths since 2008.
- Speeding of any kind was the most frequent driver-related crash factor for drivers of commercial motor vehicles and passenger vehicles.
- Speeding was a factor in 26% of all traffic fatalities in 2018, killing 9,378 people or an average of more than 25 people per day.
- The total number of crashes and traffic injuries has declined, but the fatal crashes increased by 6.8%, according to the NHSTA.
- In 2020, 38,824 lives were lost in traffic crashes nationwide, which is the highest number of fatalities since 2007.
- Distracted driving claimed 3,142 lives in 2019.
- Of the 22,215 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2019, 47% were not wearing seat belts. Seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 lives and could have saved an additional 2,549 people if they had been wearing seat belts, in 2017 alone.
- Every day, about 28 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that’s one person every 52 minutes. In 2019, 10,142 people lost their lives due to drunk driving.
What Motor Carriers Can Do
Motor carriers must prepare for Operation Safe Driver Week by educating their employees on safe driving behaviors and enforcing commercial driver regulatory compliance throughout their organization.
Some simple reminders motor carriers can share with their drivers and that everyone should adopt:
- Follow all traffic laws.
- Wear your seat belt at all times.
- Obey all posted speed limits.
- Never use your cellphone while driving.
- Avoid driving when impaired by alcohol or drugs.
- Practice safe driving habits at all times.
For additional industry-specific guidance and resources, contact Deeley Insurance Group at 410.213.5600.
