Operation Safe Driver Week Aims to Prevent Distracted Driving

During its annual Operation Safe mobilization effort the week of Oct. 14-20, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is calling on all drivers to reduce aggressive and distracted driving and save lives, with special attention to both commercial vehicle safety and sharing the road with commercial vehicles.

Distracted driving, speeding and aggressive behaviors in all types of vehicles account for nearly 9 out of 10 fatal crashes.

Law enforcement agencies across North America are actively targeting these unsafe drivers during Operation Safe Driver, a program sponsored by CVSA and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as well as a number of strategic partners that include highway safety organizations, youth groups, truck and bus organizations, judicial and driver education organizations.

The goal is to increase activities related to commercial vehicle and non-commercial vehicle traffic enforcement; safety belt enforcement; driver roadside safety inspections; driver regulatory compliance; implementation of commercial driver educational and awareness programs to the motor carrier population; and raising awareness to teens and the motoring public about safe operations around trucks and buses.

This week, thousands of law enforcement officers will be conducting traffic enforcement operations on truck, bus and car drivers throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Public service announcements will run all week on radio stations in the three metropolitan regions where the most truck and bus crashes occur.

In addition, Operation Safe Driver this year is releasing the "Teens & Trucks: Curbing Distracted Driving" curriculum. This update to the Teens & Trucks curriculum teaches teen drivers how to adapt many of the same tactics used by professional truck drivers to reduce or eliminate on-road distractions.

"The task of driving is becoming more challenging each and every day for all of us that are on the road," said CVSA President Mark Savage, a major with the Colorado State Patrol. "It is critically important that all drivers keep their hands on the wheel, their eyes on the road and their minds in the game."

"Driver behavior is the single most important factor in preventing crashes," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "We are joining forces with our law enforcement partners during this stepped-up mobilization to remind truck and bus drivers, and all motorists who share the road with them, to play it safe. After all, safe roads start with safe drivers."