In The News
CVSA's Operation Safe Driver lowers highway deaths
WASHINGTON — Members of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), in partnership with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), are driving down the number of deaths on our highways resulting from poor driving behaviors of car, truck and bus drivers through its Operation Safe Driver campaign. Conducted across North America October 20-25, 2008, the week-long blitz included 4,321 law enforcement personnel at 1,332 localities in 31 states and several Canadian provinces.
"We know there are a small portion of high-risk drivers causing most of the crashes related to large trucks and buses," said CVSA Executive Director Stephen F. Campbell. "Operation Safe Driver focuses our enforcement resources on these high-risk operators, while at the same time offering educational tools to the motoring public at large on how to drive more safely around trucks and buses."
According to crash data analyzed by FMCSA, 88 percent of crashes involving large trucks cite driver behaviors - whether it was the car, truck or bus - were cited as a factor in the crash. The Operation Safe Driver campaign was created last year to address this problem and take aggressive enforcement action on car, bus and truck drivers to prevent deaths.
"During this holiday season, with additional travelers on the highways and roads, it is critical that every driver be constantly focused on safety," said FMCSA Administrator John H. Hill. "Car drivers should always avoid the blind spots of large trucks and buses. They should also be given plenty of room to maneuver and to stop - particularly during wintry driving conditions. Truck and bus drivers need to be mindful of their vehicle size and they need to strictly comply with all federal safety regulations, including hours-of-service rules. Safety is dependent on every driver fulfilling their responsibilities," said Hill.
Many educational and awareness events by government and industry were conducted in conjunction at different driver activities/events and population types. Activities included three international media events across the U.S., driver outreach events, No-Zone and Share the Road programs, distributing educational brochures and producing a podcast for CVSA's In the Safety Lane. In addition, a number of states conducted their TACT (Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks) operation during the week.
2008 Operation Safe Driver Results:
• 32,708 CMV Roadside Inspections
• 5.3 percent of resulted in the driver being placed out-of-service
• 22.9 percent of the Level I Inspections resulted in the vehicle(s) being
placed out of service
• In 2007, there were 20,523 inspections conducted and a driver OOS
rate of 10.2 percent
• For Drivers:
• 0.43 violations per roadside inspection
• 0.14 OOS violations per roadside inspection
• 0.08 citations per roadside inspection
For Vehicles:
• 0.74 violations per roadside inspection
• 0.38 OOS violations per roadside inspection
• 0.11 citations per roadside inspection
• 16,784 CMV Driver Traffic Enforcement Contacts
• 3,247 warnings were issued (0.19 per contact)
• 6,143 citations were issued (0.37 per contact)
• In 2007, there were 16,636 contacts, which resulted in 4,229
moving violations (0.25 violations per contact)
• 11,151 Non-CMV Driver Traffic Enforcement Contacts
• 1,808 warnings were issued (0.16 per contact)
• 8,405 citations were issued (0.75 per contact).
• In 2007, there were 6,698 contacts, which resulted in 4,860 moving
violations (0.73 violations per contact), and
• 19,428 CMV Driver License checks and 6,422 Non-CMV Driver License
Checks.
In addition, 42 targeted Compliance Reviews on truck and motorcoach operations were conducted by FMCSA personnel on motor carriers employing the "worst of the worst" commercial drivers, which resulted in the following: Nine carriers (or 21.4% of the total reviews) receiving a Conditional Safety Rating. (The national average of carriers rated Conditional in 2007 was 26.7 percent); and, four carriers (or 9.5 percent of the total reviews) receiving an Unsatisfactory Safety Rating. (The national average of carriers rated unsatisfactory in 2007 was 5.5 percent.)
CVSA is an international not-for-profit organization comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial and federal motor carrier safety officials and industry representatives from the United States, Canada and Mexico. Our mission is to promote commercial motor vehicle safety and security by providing leadership to enforcement, industry and policy makers. In addition, CVSA has several hundred associate members who are committed to helping the Alliance achieve its goals; uniformity, compatibility and reciprocity of commercial vehicle inspections, and enforcement activities throughout North America by individuals dedicated to highway safety and security. For more on CVSA click here.