Law enforcement officers pulled over 59,080 commercial and passenger vehicle drivers during Operation Safe Driver mobilization week from Oct. 19-25 in an initiative spearheaded by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

During the enforcement initiative, passenger vehicle drivers were ticketed for speeding significantly more than commercial drivers; commercial drivers were ticketed 5.8% of the time vs. 52.3% for passenger vehicles.

The top five warnings and citations handed out to commercial drivers included violations for speeding, failure to wear a seat belt, failure to obey traffic control devices, improper lane change, and following too closely. Non-commercial drivers made nearly the same violations in the same order of occurrence and were more often cited for alcohol-related offenses.

In the week, 4,337 law enforcement officials collected data at 1,549 locations across the U.S. and Canada. CVSA-certified personnel also conducted 24,184 standard roadside inspections.

In addition to traffic citations, safety investigators also used driver performance data from FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability algorithm to target carriers for on-site investigations. From this data, the inspectors conducted 193 investigations during Operation Safe Driver week, and 23% of the carriers received proposed unsatisfactory safety ratings while another 53% received proposed conditional safety ratings. As much as 46% of the investigations resulted in enforcement actions.

"CVSA and its members are vital FMCSA partners working to protect the motoring public from unsafe trucks and buses," said Scott Darling, acting director of FMCSA. "I thank the dedicated commercial vehicle inspectors and law enforcement officers for their professionalism and service, not only during Operation Safe Driver Week, but every day of the year."

The following is a look at the raw numbers from the event:

• In 2014, 19,980 CMV traffic enforcement contacts were made; the total was 29,048 in 2013.

• Non-CMV traffic enforcement contacts totaled 39,100 in 2014; there were 45,717 in 2013.

• Roadside inspections totaled 24,184 in 2014 versus 44,882 in 2013.

• The number of warnings and citations per contact to CMV drivers was 0.45 whereas the number of warnings/citations per contact to non-CMV drivers was 1.27, nearly triple the amount.

• The percentage of warnings and citations issued to CMV drivers for speeding decreased from 7.3 percent in 2013 to 5.8 percent in 2014. It was 10.8 percent in 2012.

• The percentage of warnings and citations issued to non-CMV drivers for speeding decreased from 56.0 percent in 2013 to 52.3 percent in 2014.

• The percentage of warnings and citations issued to CMV drivers for failing to obey traffic control devices increased from 1.8 percent in 2013 to 2.5 percent in 2014.

• The percentage of non-CMV drivers issued warnings and citations for alcohol possession/use/under the influence in 2014 was 1.7 percent; in 2013, it was 1.5 percent.

• The percentage of warnings and citations issued to CMV drivers in 2014 for failure to use seat belts was 2.8 percent. It was 2.9 percent in 2013 and 3.8 percent in 2012. For non-CMV drivers, the percentage increased from 2.6 percent in 2013 to 4.1 percent in 2014.

By taking a targeted approach, the campaign identified and took action against problem driver behaviors. The campaign was launched in 2007 with the FMCSA and with support from the industry and other transportation safety organizations.