Operation Safe Driver Targets Commercial Vehicle Enforcement

Nashville, Tennessee — On February 27, the Tennessee Department of Safety joins the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in a 24-hour campaign to curb unsafe driving practices that lead to commercial vehicle crashes.

The effort, dubbed “Operation Safe Driver” is intended to improve commercial and non-commercial driver behavior through effective enforcement, education and awareness strategies.  The 24-hour public awareness and enforcement campaign will begin at midnight on February 27, 2008 and end at midnight February 28, 2008.

Department of Safety Commissioner David Mitchell encourages Tennesseans and motorists traveling through the state with this simple message: “All drivers need to remember that the responsibility for driving safely is literally in your hands and that includes buckling up.”

“Improving highway safety for commercial vehicle operations starts with the driver and focusing on the importance of safe driving techniques,” stressed Kendell Poole, Director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Office.  Poole adds that “the motor carrier industry plays an important role and we encourage them to implement proactive steps to ensure their drivers are well rested, buckled up and utilizing proper trip planning to make it to their destinations safely.”

“During the campaign, THP Troopers across Tennessee will emphasize enforcement activity of commercial vehicle traffic as well as non-commercial vehicle traffic to include aggressive driving behavior by motorists around commercial vehicles,” stressed Colonel Mike Walker. “Safety belt usage enforcement and roadside inspections will also be utilized to reduce commercial vehicle crashes and injuries.”

National statistics show twelve percent of fatal crashes on highways involve large trucks and buses.  Research has shown that most of the fatal crashes (88%) stem from decisions or actions made by the driver—passenger vehicle drivers as well as commercial operators.  In fact, in most commercial vehicle crashes involving a passenger vehicle, the four-wheeled vehicle (56%) typically contributes to the crash by driver mistakes that include cutting in front of the tractor trailer rig or following too closely.  In fatal and injury crashes where the large truck was assigned the critical reason for the crash, the 2006 study reported (32%) were due to over the lane line or off the road and (28%) loss of control (traveling too fast for conditions).

Drivers of passenger vehicles need to understand how commercial motor vehicles operate and know their limitations.  Sharing the road responsibly will mean safer drivers and fewer deaths and injuries on our nation’s roadways.

The objectives of the 24-hour campaign are to:

 

• Increase safety belt enforcement activity;
• Increase driver roadside inspections;
• Increase driver regulatory compliance;
• Implement commercial driver educational and awareness programs to the motor carrier population, and;
• Increase the awareness to the motoring public about safe operations around commercial motor vehicles.

The strategies of the 24-hour campaign are to:

 

• Remove unsafe and fatigued commercial vehicle drivers from the highways.
• Take enforcement action against commercial drivers operating in an unsafe manner around trucks and buses.
• Take enforcement action against non-commercial drivers operating in an unsafe manner around trucks and buses.
• Raise awareness of the motoring public about the hazards of operating around commercial vehicles and of proper steps they can take to enhance safe operations.
• Educate government, industry and the public about the important role roadside enforcement plays in saving lives on North America’s highways and helping to provide a safe and secure place to travel.

“Through Operation Safe Driver, the THP is a dedicated partner in efforts to take enforcement action against unsafe and fatigued commercial drivers and non-commercial drivers operating in an unsafe manner around commercial drivers, and to raise the awareness of the motoring public about the hazards of operating around commercial vehicles,” said Captain Dereck Stewart, who oversees commercial vehicle enforcement.

For more information on CVSA, visit www.cvsa.org
Or contact: Steve Keppler 202-775-1623, Ext. 106

*Statistics from 2006 Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) by USDOT, FMCSA, NHTSA.