The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has designated October 16-22 as Operation Safe Driver Week.
Throughout that week, law enforcement personnel will be focusing extra attention on compulsory safety laws for both car and truck drivers.
The aim of the program is to reduce the number of accidents caused by unsafe driving.
Speeding, failure to use seat belts, distracted driving, failure to obey traffic control devices, following too closely, and improper lane changes are among the items law enforcement personnel will be targeting during that week.
Safe driving should always be top of mind, but the upcoming Operation Safe Driver Week will raise awareness of the need for safe driving behavior. Especially given that during last year’s event, officers conducted nearly 20,000 inspections and issued 4,062 citations and 3,923 warnings. A good time to be on your best behavior!
It’s also a good time to focus a little extra attention on the vehicles themselves to make sure they are safe to operate. Spend some time checking that lights are operational, brakes are in good working order, and that tires are inflated properly and have enough tread depth, etc. In other words, pump up your vehicle maintenance efforts.
It will be much easier to talk to drivers about safe driving habits like proper following distances, no texting while driving, etc. if they have confidence that the truck they are traveling in is safe, too. Remember a safe truck and a safe driver adds up to a winning combination.