5 things to know ahead of CVSA's 2019 Operation Safe Driver Week

According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), speeding was a contributing factor in 26 percent of traffic fatalities, or 9,717 lives lost, in 2017. As a result, CVSA’s annual Operation Safe Driver Week, taking place July 14 through July 20, will focus on speeding. During the week, law enforcement personnel across the country will monitor for and pull over commercial motor vehicle and passenger vehicle drivers for unsafe driver behavior. Here are 5 things to know ahead of the event: 

1. During last year’s Operation Safe Driver Week, 1,908 commercial motor vehicle drivers were issued citations for speeding, including 17 drivers for driving too fast for conditions. Law enforcement will identify those speeding or driving unsafely and may issue citations to deter future speeding tendencies. 
2. Speeding is an easily preventable driving behavior, but one where the data shows that lapses lead to serious accidents or injuries. Data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Highway Loss Data Institute shows speeding has been a factor in more than a quarter of crash deaths since 2008. 
3. While law enforcement’s emphasis will be on speeding, personnel will also be watching for other unsafe behavior like distracted driving, texting, improper lane changes and more. In 2018, officers issued 1,169 citations to CMV drivers for failure to use a seatbelt and 262 for using a mobile device. 
4. Fleets are turning to technology like fleet tracking software to monitor for unsafe driving behavior, including speeding or harsh acceleration, to improve fleet-wide safety. According to our 2018 Telematics Benchmark Report, 60 percent of fleets monitor for speeding and 45 percent monitor overall driver behavior with telematics. Fleet or safety managers can use data from fleet management systems to understand fleet-wide or individual safety trends and develop corrective measures like training programs to improve on problem areas, like speeding. 
5. Improved driver safety is one of the top benefits of using telematics, according to our Telematics Benchmark Report. In fact, our data found 57 percent of fleets reward drivers for their performance with 53 percent seeing fewer safety violations as a result. 

To prepare drivers for the inspection blitz, fleets should communicate with all staff to remind them of the organization’s safe driving policies and make expectations on safe driver behaviors and driving under the speed limit clear. Operation Safe Driver Week provides an opportunity for safety managers to dig into safety trends across the fleet, evaluate the effectiveness of current training or incentive programs and make changes based on driver behavior reports.  

To learn how GPS fleet management software can improve your fleet's safety program, please visit: Fleet Safety