Law enforcement officers in the U.S. issued 3,158 citations and 4,420 warnings to drivers of commercial vehicles during an annual seven-day enforcement effort in July.
Officers participating in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Operation Safe Driver Week safety initiative pulled over a total of 23,871 commercial motor vehicle drivers the association says were engaging in unsafe driving behaviors.
Officers also pulled over 9,366 passenger vehicles and issued 9,106 citations and 4,018 warnings to passenger vehicle drivers.
The CVSA's Safe Driver Week was held July 11-17 in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
The top five citations issued to commercial vehicle drivers included:
- Speeding/Speed too fast for conditions, 1,690 (2,549 warnings issued)
- Failure to use a seat belt, 1,225 (954 warnings issued)
- Failure to obey a traffic device, 522 (869 warnings issued)
- Texting/using a handheld phone, 344 (336 warnings issued)
- Improper lane change, 122
Officers also issued 310 warnings for following too closely.
In Canada, officers pulled over 1,828 commercial motor vehicle drivers and 7,759 passenger vehicle drivers engaging in dangerous driving behaviors and issued 275 warnings and 4,020 citations. Broken out, that’s 136 warnings and 593 citations for commercial motor vehicle drivers, and 139 warnings and 3,427 citations to passenger vehicle drivers.
In Mexico, officers pulled over 2,449 commercial motor vehicle drivers and 785 passenger vehicle drivers for unsafe driving behaviors. Officers issued a total of 1,689 warnings and 528 citations. That’s 1,115 warnings and 412 citations for commercial motor vehicle drivers, and 574 warnings and 116 citations to passenger vehicle drivers.
“Since we know that most crashes are caused by drivers, the best way to prevent crashes is to start with the cause – drivers,” said CVSA President Capt. John Broers with South Dakota Highway Patrol. “If seeing a patrol car causes a driver to slow down in a high-risk crash area of the roadway, then we’ll put patrol cars in that area. If being stopped by an officer causes that driver to be more conscientious, then our officers will pull over unsafe drivers. We will continue to do our part to make our roadways as safe as possible.”
