This week, July 9-15, 2023, is Operation Safe Driver Week! Every year, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, or CVSA, teams up with law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and Mexico to engage drivers utilizing dangerous driving maneuvers. As part of our trucking industry recruitment blog, Lionzone wanted to take a moment to spread the word about this event. We hope that the more trucking companies take advantage of this campaign, the safer all drivers will be on the road. Safe drivers are good for recruitment and retention, but, much more importantly, they are good for the drivers with whom they share the road!
Launched in 2007, the CVSA has used this campaign to educate drivers in both passenger and commercial vehicles. In 2022, Operation Safe Driver Week saw over 26,000 citations and warnings issued by law enforcement; the ticketed violations ranged from speeding to distracted driving. According to the TruckingInfo.com, the top unsafe behaviors that CVSA teams up with police officers to track are:
- Speeding
- Improper Lane Changes
- Improper Passing
- Improper Turns
- Driving While Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol
- Using a Handheld Device While Driving
- Failure to Wear a Seatbelt
Every year, the CVSA chooses to focus on one unsafe driving practice, and, this year, they are tackling speeding violations. Speeding was partially responsible for 29% of traffic deaths in 2020, resulting in over 11,000 fatal crashes. For this reason, speeding has been the focus of Operation Safe Driver Week since 2019, and it will continue to be a priority for CVSA as long as there remains a persistent speeding problem with both truck drivers and passenger vehicle drivers on the highways of North America. For all of us, it is imperative that drivers stick to speed limits; these signs are always a good recommendation to follow, and they were put up for a reason, our safety.
Seasoned truck drivers will be very familiar with Operation Safe Driver Week because it means that law enforcement will be out in full force to check for unsafe driving practices. However, new drivers need to be exposed to this as well. Trucking companies, like Migway, Inc., are introducing their drivers to the event as a way to remind them of their responsibilities while driving. Not only will it remind them to keep their mind on the road, but it will also be a good way to show the new truck drivers that they have to share the road with other trucks, as well as passenger vehicles, keeping everyone safer in the process.
Next month, the Lionzone blog will be delving deeper into safety on the roads with an article about traffic and how it affects truck drivers. Be sure to join us for that, as well as our other blogs and articles about recruitment and retention.
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Meaghan Goldberg covers recruitment and digital marketing for Lionzone. A Patterson, GA native, after graduating from both Valdosta State University and Middle Tennessee State University, Meaghan joined Lionzone in 2018 as a digital recruitment strategist before becoming the social media manager.
Resources:
https://www.cvsa.org/news/2023-osd-week-dates/
https://migway.com/blog/operation-safe-driver-week-2023/
https://www.ntassoc.com/safety-enforcement-events-for-2023
https://www.truckinginfo.com/10199888/operation-safe-driver-week-starts-july-9
