Operation Safe Driver Week is upon us, and fleets across North America are ready for the law enforcement blitz. From July 7 to 13, law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and Mexico will crack down on unsafe driving, with a particular focus on reckless, careless, and dangerous maneuvers. 

At a time when driver actions and behaviors contribute to 94% of all traffic crashes, the high-visibility enforcement blitz from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) hopes to reduce risky driving habits and the accidents they cause.

Read on to learn more about the goal of Operation Safe Driver Week, what to expect from the 2024 campaign, and how to prepare.

What is Operation Safe Driver Week?

Organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), Operation Safe Driver Week is an annual event aimed at reducing unsafe driving behaviors and preventing crashes. Law enforcement officers across North America strictly enforce traffic laws during the initiative, with a stronger presence than usual. 

Operation Safe Driver Week:

  • Targets the unsafe driving behaviors of commercial drivers and others.
  • Shows the motoring public how to share the road with large commercial vehicles like trucks and buses.
  • Offers commercial driver education and awareness programs.
  • Improves commercial motor vehicle driver regulatory compliance.
  • Conducts traffic enforcement initiatives for all vehicles on the road.

Operation Safe Driver Week 2024 — reckless, careless, and dangerous driving

Highlighting a different safety area each year, the 2024 campaign puts distracted and aggressive driving in the spotlight. This year, law enforcement will be quick to issue citations for the following behaviors.

  • Close following
  • Driving while distracted
  • Speeding
  • Hard braking
  • Weaving in and out of traffic
  • Cutting in front of another driver and then slowing down
  • Changing lanes without signaling
  • Blocking cars attempting to pass or change lanes
  • Rolling stops

Behaviors like these are shown to have a high correlation with crash risk. In its “Predicting Truck Crash Involvement” study from 2022, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) found that drivers with reckless driving violations were 104% more likely than the average driver to be involved in a crash in the next 12 months. In fact, reckless driving is more predictive of future crash risk than any other driving behavior out there.

Fortunately, fleets have tools at their disposal to prevent reckless driving, distracted driving, and other high-risk behaviors. AI dash cams, like the Motive AI Dashcam, can help fleets identify these behaviors and implement comprehensive coaching programs to assist drivers in dramatically improving their performance. 

When you blend AI dash cams with a dedicated coaching program, your team can benefit from fewer accidents, safer drivers, and lower costs. The impact can be significant: a recent study showed that Motive AI Dashcam customers who frequently coach experience an average of 50% fewer accidents than those who don’t.

AI dash cams and coaching are just part of a broader safety strategy. The best safety programs benchmark safety performance through near-miss reports, traffic citations, and other data. Then, they coach drivers to bring down their incident rates. 

Motive is here to help

During the summer months, when there’s more traffic and risk on the road, fleets must increase their driver safety awareness and do all they can to prevent accidents.

Last year, law enforcement issued nearly 6,000 warnings and 4,500 citations during Operation Safe Driver Week. These numbers highlight the critical need for employers to prioritize safe driving and improve fleet safety. Download our new Ultimate Guide to fleet safety and start building a world-class fleet safety program today. 

Editor’s note: P. Sean Garney and Scopelitis Transportation Consulting are Motive contractors.