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Operation Safe Driver Week ends in nearly 47,000 citations

On Behalf of | Oct 24, 2019 | Truck Accidents

Truckers in Georgia may know that for 2019, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance held Operation Safe Driver Week between July 14 and 20. This week of increased traffic law enforcement ended with officers issuing 46,752 citations and 87,624 warnings to passenger vehicle drivers and CMV drivers across the U.S.

Drivers’ actions are behind 94% of all traffic crashes, according to the CVSA, so this initiative is meant to deter drivers from violating traffic laws. The focus of the 2019 Operation Safe Driver Week was on speeding offenses. Speeding, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, has been behind a quarter of all crash fatalities since 2008.

The most cited violation was, not surprisingly, breaking basic speed laws and driving too fast for conditions. This was the reason for 17,556 citations. The second most cited violation was failure to wear a seatbelt: 954 CMV drivers and 1,794 passenger vehicle drivers received citations for this. Third was the failure to obey a traffic control device. Phone use behind the wheel, drunk or drugged driving and improper lane changes were also in the top 10.

Law enforcement officers cited drivers for vehicle-related issues as well. These included issues with the required mirror equipment, expired license plate tags and burnt-out lights.

As the statistics above show, truck drivers, especially long-haul truck drivers, can become negligent in various ways. If a drunk, drugged, drowsy or distracted truck driver causes a crash, those who are injured may have a case under truck accident law. This may want to hire a lawyer, especially when it comes to gathering evidence against the trucker and negotiating for a settlement with the trucking company. A lawyer may bring in investigators and other third parties to assist. If negotiations fail, the lawyer may prepare for litigation.

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