Episode 120 Show Notes
Episode 120 Show Notes
TALKING POINTS
1- More trucking companies filing Chapter 11
2- Explosion in Tennessee at ammo plant
3- Favorite vacation you have ever took or have on your bucket list
NEWS
Over 2,500 tickets issued during CVSA’s 2025 Operation Safe Driver Week
By Dana Guthrie – October 15, 2025
Law enforcement officers in Canada and the U.S. pulled over 8,739 vehicles during this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week. Officers issued 2,504 tickets/citations and 3,575 warnings to commercial motor vehicle (CMV) and passenger vehicle (PV) drivers for unsafe driving infractions.Operation Safe Driver Week is the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) annual, seven-day safe-driving initiative aimed at improving drivers’ behaviors through traffic-enforcement strategies, interactions with law enforcement, and outreach and awareness campaigns. CVSA’s jurisdictions devote time, personnel and resources to this driver safety initiative because driving behaviors, such as speeding, distracted driving, aggressive driving, etc., are a top cause of roadway crashes.
From July 13-19, officers issued 3,230 warnings and 1,839 tickets/citations to commercial motor vehicle drivers for various unsafe driving behaviors.
Reckless/Careless/Inattentive Driving
A total of 20 citations and 53 warnings were given to drivers for reckless/careless/inattentive driving, the focus for this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week. 12 citations and 47 warnings were given to commercial motor vehicle drivers.
Reckless/careless/inattentive driving was the focus of this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week. Any person who drives a vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is driving recklessly. Careless/dangerous driving is defined as operating a vehicle without due care and attention or reasonable consideration for other motorists or people on the road.
Speeding
Speeding was the top infraction during Operation Safe Driver Week. A total of 1,249 warnings and 917 citations/tickets were issued for speeding, with commercial motor vehicle drivers receiving 1,073 warnings and 491 tickets/citations.
Drivers who speed have less time to notice and respond to roadway hazards, such as pedestrians or slowed traffic. It’s also harder to steer safely around obstacles or in poor weather, and higher speeds mean greater impact during a collision, which makes a crash more deadly or likely to cause catastrophic injury.
In 2023, speeding killed 11,775 people and was a contributing factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities in the U.S. In Canada, in 2023, there were 1,964 roadways fatalities, and speeding was cited as the leading contributing factor (25%).
Failure to Wear a Seat Belt
Another top violation during Operation Safe Driver Week was failure to wear a seat belt. A total of 219 warnings and 264 tickets/citations were issued. Commercial motor vehicle drivers received 204 warnings and 248 tickets/citations for not wearing their seat belt.
Nearly 9% of drivers in the U.S. do not wear their seat belt. When it comes to commercial motor vehicle drivers specifically, an estimated 14% do not wear their seat belt. In Canada, in 2023, approximately 33% of drivers and 32% of passengers were not wearing a seatbelt during a fatal crash.
According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, wearing a seat belt is the single most effective thing drivers and passengers can do to protect themselves in a crash. Being buckled up during a crash helps keep everyone safe and secure inside the vehicle. Seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 lives and could have saved an additional 2,549 people if they had been wearing seat belts, in 2017 alone.
Texting, Using a Handheld Device
Texting or using a handheld device was another frequently cited violation. A total of 129 warnings and 116 tickets/citations were issued to drivers who were texting or using a mobile device while driving. Commercial motor vehicle drivers received 107 warnings and 79 tickets/citations for texting/using a handheld device while operating a commercial motor vehicle.
Texting while driving is one of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving because it combines visual, manual and cognitive distractions all at once. Distraction impairs performance and reduces a driver’s awareness. It makes drivers slower to notice and less able to safely respond to critical events on the road. In fact, studies show that the impairments associated with using a cell phone while driving can be as profound as those associated with driving while impaired.
In the U.S., distracted driving claimed 3,275 lives in 2023, and in Canada, distracted driving contributed to an estimated 22.5% of fatal collisions.
Possession/Use/Under Influence of Drugs/Alcohol
Fourteen commercial motor vehicle drivers received warnings and 22 were issued citations for possession/use/under influence of drugs/alcohol.
Driving under the influence of prescribed or illegal drugs or alcohol impairs the brain and body functions needed to operate a vehicle safely. Effects include slower reflexes and reaction time, decreased coordination, poor judgement, blurred vision and/or dizziness, etc., all of which increase the risk of crashes, injuries and fatalities.
About 1 million arrests are made in the U.S. each year for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. In Canada, police reported 71,602 incidents of impaired driving in 2023.
In the U.S., commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders and commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders with drug and alcohol program violations are identified in FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. CDL holders with “prohibited” status in the clearinghouse have lost their CDL or CLP and must complete the return-to-duty process to become eligible to have their license reinstated. More than 346,000 violations have been reported to the Clearinghouse since its inception on Jan. 2, 2020, to Aug. 6, 2025.
Human Trafficking Education
In addition, the identification and prevention of human trafficking is a priority for law enforcement jurisdictions throughout North America. During this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week, participating jurisdictions reported conducting 1,681 awareness and educational activities to raise awareness of the crime of human trafficking, indicators to look for and what to do when a victim of human trafficking has been identified.
Outreach and Awareness
In addition to traffic stops, another important aspect of the Operation Safe Driver Week campaign is raising awareness of the dangers of unsafe driving behaviors in an effort to dissuade such behaviors.
CVSA mailed nearly 70,000 Operation Safe Driver Week postcards to inspectors and motor carriers for distribution in the weeks leading up to and during Operation Safe Driver Week.
CVSA worked with the Paramount/CBS network to educate passenger vehicle drivers about safely sharing the roads with large trucks. The campaign included videos, digital ad banners, and video and static awareness ads, which were featured on websites, social media and CBS’s digital streaming channels. The digital campaign delivered more than 15 million campaign impressions.
Operation Safe Driver Week and Program
The Operation Safe Driver Program, part of CVSA’s transportation safety programs, was created to reduce the number of crashes involving commercial motor vehicles and passenger vehicles due to unsafe driving behaviors.
Through initiatives like Operation Safe Driver Week, law enforcement jurisdictions, the motor carrier industry and federal agencies work together toward the same goal – preventing crashes, injuries and fatalities on North America’s roadways.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
