Operation Safe Driver
Each year more than 40,000 people die on the roadways throughout North America – many of which are the direct result of unsafe and aggressive driving practices by both passenger and commercial vehicle drivers. Each year in October, law enforcement across North America will respond by actively targeting these drivers during a campaign dubbed ‘Operation Safe Driver.’
“In large truck crashes where one or more deaths result from the crash, 88 percent of the time it is attributable to driver error by both car and truck drivers. Operation Safe Driver will have a razor sharp focus on targeting and taking aggressive enforcement action for poor decisions made by drivers of commercial vehicles and those 4-wheelers operating unsafely around them,” said Stephen A. Keppler, Executive Director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. “We are also rolling out education and awareness strategies to combat this epidemic. Far too many deaths are occurring, and it is unacceptable to stand by and watch the carnage continue.”
Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death worldwide among young people aged 10-24 years. Each year nearly 400,000 people under 25 die on the world’s roads – on average more than 1,000 a day.
CVSA, in partnership with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), state, provincial and local law enforcement and industry launched the campaign in 2007 to combat the number of deaths resulting from crashes involving large trucks, buses and passenger vehicles.
Operation Safe Driver will hold activities across the United States, Canada and Mexico that aim to increase commercial vehicle and non-commercial vehicle traffic enforcement; safety belt enforcement; driver roadside inspections; driver regulatory compliance; implementation of commercial driver educational and awareness programs to the motor carrier population; and, awareness to the motoring public about safe operations around commercial motor vehicles.
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