Approaching Safe Driver Week
Safe Driver Week is put on by the Commercial Safety Vehicle Alliance (CVSA) and occurs each year. Safe Driver Week is done to help bring awareness and to help improve the driving behaviors of both passenger vehicles and commercial motor vehicles.
This year, Safe Driver Week will occur from July 11th – July 17th. During this week, law enforcement officers will be watching out for commercial vehicles and passenger drivers who are not following roadway laws and driving dangerously. Drivers who are being reckless will be pulled over and issued a warning or citation.
Data has been completed, and it shows that traffic stops and interactions with law enforcement officers help reduce driving behavior issues. By conducting Safe Driver Week, law enforcement officers are cracking down on unsafe driving and aiming to make our roadways safer.
What You Need to Know About Safe Driver Week
Each year during Safe Driver Week, the CVSA chooses one main driving issue to focus on. This year, the CVSA has chosen to focus on speeding. While there was a drop in travel last year due to COVID-19, safety personnel have seen increased traffic fatalities nationwide.
According to different resources, speeding has caused many traffic issues
- Speeding has been the cause of more than a quarter of crash fatalities since 2008, according to https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/yearly-snapshot
- Speeding has been the most common driver-related crash cause for commercial vehicle drivers and passenger drivers, according to https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/large-truck-and-bus-crash-facts-2016
- Lastly, speeding was a factor in about 26% of traffic fatalities in 2018. This data shows that speeding has killed 9,378 people or about 25 people each day according to https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/speeding
Other Areas to Pay Attention To
While the CVSA focuses on speeding, law enforcement officers will also be focusing on other dangerous driving behaviors during Safe Driver Week. These behaviors can include:
- Aggressive driving
- Reckless driving
- Following too closely
- Distracted driving
- Improper lane change
- Failure to use a seat belt
- Failure to follow traffic control devices
- Drunk or drugged driving
Below are some statistics regarding the above dangerous driving behaviors:
- In 2019, distracted driving claimed the lives of 3,142 people
- In 2019, 22,215 individuals lost their lives. 47% was because of not wearing a seat belt. Seat belts can save lives and have been known to save about 14,955 lives and could have even saved an additional 2,549 had they been wearing a seat belt in 2017.
- Each day, approximately 28 individuals within the United States lose their lives to drunk driving accidents. This is about one person every 52 minutes. Additionally, 10,142 individuals lost their lives because of drunk driving in 2019.
* The following data information comes from the following
https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving
https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/seat-belts
https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving
Safe Driver Week is quickly approaching. Be sure to follow all road and safety signs. Continue watching for more safety tips leading up to Safe Driver Week 2021.
Keep trucking and safe travels!