The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s 2020 Operation Safe Driver Week will go on as scheduled, July 12-18, focusing on what CVSA called an "alarming trend of increased speeding on our roadways during the pandemic."

Law enforcement personnel throughout the country will be looking for unsafe driving behaviors by both commercial motor vehicle drivers and car drivers, and may issue a warning or a citation.

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, the reduction in traffic caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may be encouraging some drivers to ignore traffic safety laws, with many jurisdictions reporting an increase in speeding. According to recent data, the average speed on interstate highways, state highways, and expressways in the first week of April increased by as much as 75% compared to January and February.

New York City, Washington, D.C., and California transportation officials have reported speeding ticket increases from 20% to more than 60%. In cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, police has seen travel speed increases of 35-38% above average to 74-75% above average in just one week.

“It’s essential that this enforcement initiative, which focuses on identifying and deterring unsafe driving behaviors, such as speeding, go on as scheduled,” said CVSA President Sgt. John Samis of the Delaware State Police. “As passenger vehicle drivers are limiting their travel to necessary trips and many commercial motor vehicle drivers are busy transporting vital goods to stores, it’s more important than ever to monitor our roadways for safe transport.”

In addition to a focus on speeding, examples of other dangerous driver behaviors that law enforcement will track during Operation Safe Driver Week include distracted driving, failure to use a seatbelt, following too closely, improper lane change, reckless or aggressive driving, failure to obey traffic control devices, and evidence of impaired driving.

To find out about Operation Safe Driver Week enforcement events going on in your area, contact the agency or department responsible for overseeing commercial motor vehicle safety within your jurisdiction.