Law enforcement officers in Canada and the U.S. pulled over 11,050 vehicles during this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week in July. Officers issued 2,712 tickets/citations and 3,228 warnings to commercial motor vehicle and passenger vehicle drivers for various unsafe driving infractions.
Operation Safe Driver Week is an annual, pre-announced safe-driving initiative aimed at improving driving behaviors through traffic enforcement strategies, interactions with law enforcement, and outreach and awareness campaigns.
From July 7 to 13, officers issued 2,439 warnings and 1,583 tickets/citations to commercial motor vehicle drivers and 789 warnings and 1,129 tickets/citations to passenger vehicle drivers for unsafe driving behaviors.
Last year, a total of 4,592 warnings and 2,634 tickets/citations were given to commercial motor vehicle drivers, and officers issued 1,164 warnings and 1,860 tickets/citations to passenger vehicle drivers.
Reckless/careless/dangerous driving was the focus area for this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week. Five warnings and 31 citations were given to drivers for reckless, careless or dangerous driving.
Speeding was a top infraction during Operation Safe Driver Week. A total of 1,694 warnings and 1,226 citations/tickets were issued for speeding. Commercial motor vehicle drivers received 1,221 warnings and 502 tickets/citations for speeding, and passenger vehicle drivers received 473 warnings and 724 citations/tickets for speed-related infractions.
Another top unsafe driving behavior identified during Operation Safe Driver Week was failure to wear a seat belt. A total of 354 warnings and 554 tickets/citations were issued. Commercial motor vehicle drivers received 328 warnings and 473 tickets/citations for not wearing their seat belt.
During Operation Safe Driver Week, passenger vehicle drivers were given 26 warnings and 81 tickets/citations for failure to wear a seat belt.
Texting or using a handheld device was another top violation. A total of 158 warnings and 169 tickets/citations were issued to drivers who were texting or using a mobile device while driving. Commercial motor vehicle drivers received 91 warnings and 115 tickets/citations for texting/using a handheld device while operating a commercial motor vehicle.
Passenger vehicle drivers received 67 warnings and 54 tickets/citations for texting/using a handheld device while behind the wheel.
Thirty drivers received warnings and 49 were given a ticket/citation for possession/use/under influence of drugs/alcohol.
In addition, the identification and prevention of human trafficking is a priority for law enforcement jurisdictions throughout North America. During Operation Safe Driver Week, officers reported conducting 1,924 awareness and educational activities to raise awareness of the crime of human trafficking, indicators to look for and what to do when a victim of human trafficking has been identified
