From Nicole Leandro, Director of Communications, CVSA

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10 Jul 2023

Washington, D.C. (May 31, 2023) – The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced July 9-15 as this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week. Throughout that week, law enforcement officers in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. will be on the lookout for commercial motor vehicle drivers and passenger vehicle drivers engaging in unsafe driving behaviors. Those exhibiting unsafe driving behaviors will be pulled over and given a warning and/or issued a ticket/citation by law enforcement.

 

This 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. shows that traffic stops and interactions with law enforcement help reduce problematic driving behaviors.

 

Examples of unsafe driver behaviors are speeding; improper lane changes, passing or turns; driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol; using a handheld device; failure to wear a seat belt, etc.

 

Each year, Operation Safe Driver Week focuses on a specific unsafe driving behavior to call attention to the dangers of that behavior. This year, the focus will be on . CVSA has continued to focus on speeding because it remains a persistent problem on our roadways. 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 , 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 in all roadway environments through targeted education, outreach campaigns and enforcement. CVSA’s 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. Operation Safe Driver Week aims to improve roadway safety by reminding drivers via driver safety communication and education to manage their speeds, and by addressing speeding via responsive traffic 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.

 

Operation Safe Driver is a CVSA program aimed at reducing unsafe driver behaviors through traffic enforcement and by educating all drivers about ways to safely share the roads.