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Police clamp down during Operation Safe Driver Week

By Butler Prather LLP on December 20, 2016

Law enforcement agencies in Georgia and across the country warned or ticketed 19,657 truck and passenger vehicle drivers during the 2016 Operation Safe Driver Week. A further 991 motorists were pulled over by Canadian police between Oct. 16 and Oct. 22. The annual weeklong safety effort, which first took place in 2007, is organized by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration working in conjunction with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

The CVSA released the results of the latest Operation Safe Driver Week on Dec. 7. The number of commercial vehicle drivers pulled over by police in the United States and Canada fell from 13,807 in 2015 to 11,182 this year, but the number of passenger vehicle drivers stopped by law enforcement increased by 2,261 from 7,205 to 9,466. Both car and truck drivers were most often cited or cautioned for state or local moving violations and speeding.

The goal of Operation Safe Driver Week is to reduce the number of collisions between semi-tractor trailers and passenger vehicles, and police pay particular attention to impatient car drivers who speed or drive recklessly in close proximity to large trucks. More than 39 percent of the passenger vehicle drivers pulled over during the safety push were warned or ticketed for exceeding posted speed limits. Motorists were also commonly pulled over for ignoring traffic control signals, not wearing their safety belts and using cellphones while driving.

The injuries suffered in semi truck accidents by occupants of other vehicles are often debilitating, and personal injury attorneys with experience in this area would likely welcome any effort designed to improve road safety for car and truck drivers. Truck accident victims are often left so badly injured that they are unable support themselves or their families for considerable periods, and attorneys may seek compensation for lost income when filing lawsuits on their behalf against reckless truck drivers or negligent trucking companies.

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