CVSA Reveals 2023 Operation Safe Driver Week Results

Operation Safe Driver Week—an annual campaign conducted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA)— took place from July 10-16, 2023. This year’s focus was on speeding. During the week-long initiative, law enforcement officers in Canada and the United States stopped 11,448 passenger vehicles and commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers engaging in dangerous driving behaviors. This article provides more information on Operation Safe Driver Week and summarizes this year’s results.

The Purpose of Operation Safe Driver Week

Operation Safe Driver Week is an annual, seven-day initiative created by the CVSA to help detect and prevent unsafe behaviors on the road among CMV drivers. During this week-long campaign, law enforcement agencies throughout North America typically participate in increased traffic safety enforcement, focusing on risky behaviors such as:

• Engaging in reckless or aggressive driving
• Being distracted while driving
• Following too closely
• Conducting improper lane changes
• Failing to obey traffic control devices
• Neglecting to use a seat belt
• Driving while under the influence

As usual, drivers found in violation of any safety regulations were issued a warning or citation. Apart from heightened traffic safety enforcement, Operation Safe Driver Week also calls for increased education and awareness of safe driving practices. Law enforcement agencies, transportation safety officials and motor carriers are encouraged to take this time to provide CMV drivers with valuable resources on safe driving behaviors.

2023 Results

During this year’s initiative, the results showed a total of 5,756 warnings and 4,494 citations were issued throughout the week in Canada and the U.S. The top reason for a citation for CMV drivers was other state/local driver violations, which include violations such as no registration or proof of insurance, size and weight violations and defective equipment. The top five passenger vehicle driver citations for both locations were:

1. Speeding (1,293 citations)
2. Other state/local driver violations (260 citations)
3. Using a hand-held phone/texting/distracted driving (130 citations)
4. Failing to use a seat belt (86 citations)
5. Failure to obey traffic control devices (24 citations)

The top five CMV driver citations for both locations were:

1. Other state/local driver violations (859 citations)
2. Speeding (715 citations)
3. Failing to use a seat belt (467 citations)
4. Failure to obey traffic control device (296 citations)
5. Using a hand-held phone/texting/distracted driving (132 citations)

U.S. Results

Within the United States alone, 2,258 citations and 4,329 warnings were issued to CMV drivers, and 1,503 citations and 1,063 warnings were issued to passenger vehicle drivers during this year’s initiative. A total of 3,761 citations and 5,392 warnings were issued. For additional industry-specific guidance and resources, contact us today.

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