CVSA announced the results of its annual fall enforcement campaign via press release Wednesday. Per the release, law enforcement officers pulled over 20,648 commercial motor vehicle drivers and passenger vehicle drivers during the campaign. Of that total, 19,657 citations or warnings were issued in the United States, and 991 were issued in Canada.
Speeding and other state and local moving violations accounted for nearly three-quarters of all citations issued by law enforcement officers during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s 2016 Operation Safe Driver Week.
Operation Safe Driver is a program aimed at decreasing the number of fatalities and injuries from crashes on roadways caused by unsafe driving behaviours by both CMV drivers and passenger vehicle drivers. This year’s event was conducted Oct. 16-22, 2016. The data was collected by nearly 3,000 law enforcement officials at locations across the United States and Canada.
The focus of this year’s campaign was unsafe driving behaviours. Examples of unsafe driving behaviours include speeding, failure to use a seat belt, distracted driving, failure to obey traffic control devices, traveling too closely, or improper lane change
“Through a variety of high-visibility and covert driver traffic enforcement initiatives, in addition to driver education and outreach activities, law enforcement agencies capitalized on the opportunity the weeklong campaign provided to continue their work toward making sure the drivers on our nations’ roadways are sharing and navigating those roadways safely,” CVSA President Julius Debuschewitz of Yukon Highways and Public Works, said in the release.
Over half of all warnings and citations issued to CMV drivers were for state and local moving violations. Speeding violations accounted for nearly 20 percent of warnings and citations issued, per CVSA. Speeding was the most common warning or citation issued to passenger vehicles, accounting for more than 39 percent of all warnings and citations given.
Seat belt violations made up 7.1 percent of all CMV contacts, per the agency’s release. Seat belt violations made up more than 11 percent of warnings and citations issued to passenger vehicles.
The top five warnings and citations issued to CMV drivers were:
State and Local Moving Violations – 56.7 percent
Speeding – 19.6 percent
Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device – 7.6 percent
Failure to Use Seat belt While Operating CMV – 7.1 percent
Using a Handheld Phone – 2.4 percent
The top five warnings and citations issued to private passenger-vehicle drivers were:
Speeding – 39.4 percent
State and Local Moving Violations – 37.1 percent
Failure to Use Seat Belt – 11.7 percent
Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device – 1.9 percent
Inattentive and/or Careless Driving – 1.5 percent
For the second straight year, the number of overall contacts between CMV drivers and law enforcement during the campaign declined significantly compared to the previous year. According to CVSA, 11,182 citations or warnings were issued to CMV drivers, compared to 13,807 contacts in 2015. The number of citations or warnings issued to private passenger-vehicle drivers rose to 9,466, up from 7,205 contacts in 2015.
More numbers from CVSA’s report can be found in full here:
Seven CMV drivers received a citation for operating their vehicle while ill or fatigued; 38 CMV drivers received a warning.
There were five warnings and nine citations to CMV drivers for reckless driving.
Forty-seven private passenger-vehicle drivers were cited for reckless driving; 14 received warnings.
1.4 percent of CMV driver citations and warnings were issued for following too closely.
Less than 1 percent (0.9 percent) of private passenger-vehicle driver citations and warnings were issued for following too closely.
The Operation Safe Driver Program was launched in 2007 by CVSA, in partnership with FMCSA and with support from industry and transportation safety organizations, to combat the number of deaths and injuries resulting from crashes involving large trucks, buses and private passenger vehicles by improving the behaviour of all drivers operating in an unsafe manner – either in or around commercial motor vehicles – and initiating educational and enforcement strategies to address individuals exhibiting high-risk driving behaviours.
