Speed limit violations are the focus of a major enforcement schedule for about two months from now.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Operation Safe Driver Week is scheduled for July 14-20.The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Operation Safe Driver Week is scheduled for July 14-20. It will focus on commercial motor vehicle drivers and passenger vehicle drivers engaging in dangerous driver behaviors, including and especially speeding.
During last year’s Operation Safe Driver Week, 16,909 passenger vehicle drivers and 1,908 commercial motor vehicle drivers were issued citations for speeding, according to the CVSA. In addition, 17 commercial motor vehicle drivers and 714 passenger vehicle drivers were cited for driving too fast for the conditions. The CVSA also cites Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 2016 data that shows speeding of any kind was the most frequent driver-related crash factor for commercial motor vehicles and passenger vehicles.
The theme of the enforcement week across North America is “Late won’t kill you, speeding will.”
“For more than two decades, speeding has been involved in nearly one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities,” said CVSA President Chief Jay Thompson with the Arkansas Highway Police. “That is unacceptable, especially because it’s preventable. We will continue to educate the public on the dangers of speeding and we will identify individuals who are speeding on our roadways and may issue citations as a deterrent to future speeding tendencies and to affect diver behavior.”
In addition to the emphasis on speeding, law enforcement personnel will be tracking other dangerous driver behaviors throughout the week. These include:
- distracted driving
- texting
- failure to use a seatbelt
- following too closely
- improper lane change
- reckless or aggressive driving
- failure to obey traffic control devices
- evidence of drunk or drugged driving
“As unpopular as traffic citations are among drivers, we know that driver behavior does respond to contacts with law enforcement and warnings and citations,” said Chief Thompson. “Roadway safety is our top priority and this traffic enforcement initiative supports our goal of making sure everyone driving on our roadways is doing so safely.”
