Operation Safe Driver Week to Focus on Reckless, Careless Drivers

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Operation Safe Driver Week will be held July 7-13, focusing on reckless, careless or dangerous driving. This is a safe-driving enforcement and outreach initiative aimed at drivers of both commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles.

The goal is to improve driving behaviors through educational and traffic-enforcement strategies and driver interactions with law enforcement.

During Operation Safe Driver Week, North American law enforcement personnel will be on the lookout commercial motor vehicle drivers and passenger vehicle drivers engaging in unsafe driving behaviors, such as:

• Speeding
• Distracted driving
• Following too closely
• Drunk or drugged driving.

They will be pulled over by law enforcement and may be issued a warning or citation.

The focus area for this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week is reckless, careless or dangerous driving. Any person who drives a vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is driving recklessly. Careless/dangerous driving is defined as operating a vehicle without due care and attention or reasonable consideration for other motorists or people on the road.

Why Operation Safe Driver Focuses on Dangerous Driving Behaviors

During last year's Operation Safe Driver Week, officers issued nearly 4,500 tickets/citations and more than 5,700 warnings to drivers, commercial motor vehicle and passenger vehicle drivers combined.

Operation Safe Driver Week is part of CVSA’s Operation Safe Driver program. The program offers resources for teen and new drivers and commercial motor vehicle drivers, along with safe-driving public service announcement videos, which are available for download and distribution.

This program focuses specifically on drivers because drivers’ actions – whether it’s something a driver did, like speeding, or something they didn’t do, such as not paying attention to the driving task – are responsible for most crashes. In fact, drivers’ actions contribute to a staggering 94% of all traffic crashes.

CVSA is also offering Operation Safe Driver Week postcards at no cost to its industry and enforcement members.