Eight tips: Don't get pegged during CVSA's safe driving enforcement week

Oct. 9, 2017

Fleets love to stand out and be recognized, but not in this case. Avoid delays and expense by making sure your trucks and drivers don't bring home tickets during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) upcoming safe driving enforcement week.

Aaron Marsh

CVSA announced Operation Safe Driver Week over the summer. It runs from Sunday, Oct. 15 through Saturday, Oct. 21. Enforcement officers will be looking especially for drivers exhibiting unsafe and distracted behaviors, issuing warnings or citations to commercial and passenger vehicle drivers alike.

The goal of this exercise is ultimately to reduce motor vehicle fatalities. CVSA pointed to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) latest Large Truck Crash Causation Study, which found driver behavior to blame for more than 88% of heavy truck crashes and 93% of passenger vehicle crashes.

The good news is that not being ticketed during this specialized enforcement boils down to this: use common sense and drive as you're supposed to.

The bad news? Those things can actually be pretty hard to come by these days out on America's roadways. And even if officers pull over another heavy truck or passenger vehicle, it could create a traffic slowdown that can leave drivers stuck in it more prone to distracted behaviors.

Based on what enforcement officers will be watching for, here are eight tips to help avoid costly fines and citations during Operation Safe Driver Week.

About the Author

Aaron Marsh

Before computerization had fully taken hold and automotive work took someone who speaks engine, Aaron grew up in Upstate New York taking cars apart and fixing and rewiring them, keeping more than a few great jalopies (classics) on the road that probably didn't deserve to be. He spent a decade inside the Beltway covering Congress and the intricacies of the health care system before a stint in local New England news, picking up awards for both pen and camera.

He wrote about you-name-it, from transportation and law and the courts to events of all kinds and telecommunications, and landed in trucking when he joined FleetOwner in July 2015. Long an editorial leader, he was a keeper of knowledge at FleetOwner ready to dive in on the technical and the topical inside and all-around trucking—and still turned a wrench or two. Or three.

Aaron previously wrote for FleetOwner.