Operation Safe Driver Catches Numerous Speeders

Launched in 2007, Operation Safe Driver (OSD) Week is an initiative developed to combat the staggering number of deaths related to commercial truck, bus and passenger vehicle crashes. An international effort, the OSD campaign involves the efforts of various stakeholders, including the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the automotive and trucking industries, and state, provincial and local law enforcement. With the help of this and other traffic safety initiatives, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reported a reduction in traffic fatalities and injuries; however, at the end of 2010, the CVSA reported some alarming findings.

Data collected during the fourth annual OSD meeting, in October 2010, revealed that law enforcement made 53,000 passenger and commercial driver stops during the year's campaign. For these stops, law enforcement issued warnings for speeding to approximately 20 percent of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers as compared to over 61 percent of passenger car drivers. Of the other two major traffic issues-failure to obey traffic control devices and failing to use seat belts-passenger car drivers were issued more warnings than CMV operators. As for citations, CMV operators still had issues with speeding, failure to obey traffic control devices and failing to use seat belts. As for seat belt citations, OSD revealed increased non-compliance from 2009 to 2010.

The CVSA-a non-profit organization with a mission of promoting commercial motor vehicle safety and security, provides leadership to enforcement, industry and policy makers-has promoted the OSD as well as other safety programs. While the group focuses on issues involving commercial vehicles, the OSD initiative considers the behavior of drivers that share our nation's highways. Data from the previous year, 2009, showed declines in out-of-service violations for commercial vehicles, and an increase in traffic warnings and citations to all drivers.

In the past, this traffic safety initiative focused on risky driving conduct, heightened law enforcement in high crash corridors and heightened monitoring of aggressive drivers. While educational programs have enhanced this program, drivers have continued to disregard basic safety considerations. Given the significant drop in crash related injuries and deaths, the CVSA and its partners may have to develop new methods to reduce the number of truck accidents and educate all classes of operators about the impact of their unsafe driving behaviors.