The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) annual Operation Safe Driver is underway across North America – with special attention this year on speeding vehicles and dangerous driving.
“Law enforcement personnel will issue warnings or citations to commercial motor vehicle drivers and passenger vehicle drivers engaging in dangerous driving behaviors,” CVSA stated.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) notes that driver’s actions have historically contributed to approximately 94 percent of collisions.
Data available from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Analysis and Information Online shows an upward trend in speed related violations for heavy trucks over the past five years with the most significant increase in the 60 percent range for speed violations in excess of 15 mph (24 km/h) over the posted speed limit.
“With the ELD mandate in effect in the US and the Canadian mandate set for June 2021, we are keeping a close eye on the speed issue as a small, but growing, segment of the industry operating in Canada will try and overcome the safety benefits of ELDs by speeding,” said CTA’s Geoff Wood, Senior VP, Policy.
Operation Safe Driver was launched in 2007 as a partnership between the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the law enforcement communities and the trucking industry across North America, to reduce the number of collisions resulting from dangerous driving behaviours. As part of a broader strategy in the lead-up to the Canadian ELD mandate in 2019, CTA highlighted the need for the development of a national, focused speed enforcement strategy with CVSA Region V (Canadian Provincial and Territorial jurisdictions) and the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators.
“CTA applauds Canadian CVSA jurisdictions’ focus on speed. It will not only improve highway safety but also addresses industry concerns with the practice of time compression used by non-compliant fleets and customers to make up for inefficiencies in their supply-chains,” added Wood. “There is no need for speeding – it is unsafe, generates excessive green-house gas emissions and is completely counterintuitive from an operational-cost perspective.
“Speed enforcement, coupled with a third-party certified ELD regime, will force the noncompliant carriers and drivers, as well as their customers, to change behaviour for the better and the safety interests of all road users.”