CVSA Operation Safety Week 2022: What You Need to Know

The dates for this year's Operation Safe Driver Week are July 10-16. Throughout that week, law enforcement officers in Canada, Mexico, and the United States will be on the roads issuing warnings and citations to commercial motor vehicle and passenger vehicle drivers who engage in unsafe driving behaviors such as speeding, distracted driving, following too closely, improper lane change, drunk or drugged driving, and so on.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) of the United States Department of Transportation issued its latest annual road collision report earlier this month, revealing that 38,824 people died in traffic crashes in 2020, the highest number of deaths since 2007. While the total number of collisions and traffic injuries decreased, fatal crashes climbed by 6.8%.

"This safe driving initiative and campaign focuses explicitly on drivers' behaviors - whether it's something a driver did, like speeding, or something they didn't do, like not paying attention to the driving task," said South Dakota Highway Patrol CVSA President Capt. John Broers. "This emphasis on driver behavior is part of our commitment to identify and educate drivers who are driving recklessly on our roads, with the objective of reducing crashes."

Here are some notable statistics from past years' accident reports:

• Since 2008, speeding has been a factor in more than a quarter of all collision fatalities. (Source)
• Speeding of any type was the most common driver-related collision risk for both commercial and passenger vehicle drivers. (Source)
• In 2018, speeding was a factor in 26% of all road deaths, killing 9,378 individuals, or more than 25 people each day. (Source)
• In 2019, 3,142 people were killed as a result of distracted driving. (Source)
• Every day, around 28 individuals in the United States are killed in drunk-driving accidents – one every 52 minutes. In 2019, drunk driving claimed the lives of 10,142 people. (Source)

In this article, we’ll give you three ways to avoid trouble during the upcoming CVSA operation safety week. But before we jump right into it, let’s quickly review what exactly CVSA is and why it exists.

What is Operation Safe Driver Week?

Operation Safe Driver Week is an annual event that aims to reduce the number of crashes involving commercial motor vehicles on North American roadways.

CVSA, in collaboration with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, is the sponsor of Operation Safe Driver Week. It is also backed by the motor carrier industry and transportation safety groups.

This week-long outreach program is intended to teach commercial vehicle drivers how to drive safely. CVSA inspectors try to fix unsafe driving practices through dialogues, legal enforcement, and frequent spot inspections. Data suggest that traffic citations and interactions with law enforcement diminish unsafe driving behaviors.

How to avoid trouble in CVSA operation safety week

Here are three things to remember to avoid trouble during the CVSA operation safety week:

1. Watch your speed and drive safely

Drive safely by keeping an eye on your speed and avoiding distractions. The Governors Highway Safety Association notes that with much fewer passenger automobiles on the road as a result of COVID-19, there has been a significant rise in speeding. As a result, speeding is this year's focal issue, with law enforcement aggressively inspecting truck speeds on the road.

2. Make sure your documents are in order

Take your vehicle to your favorite service center for an inspection and get your documentation in order and your truck or trailer is ready. The inspection should ensure that your brakes, lights, tires, and other components are all in working order. If the inspection finds any flaws, you’ll need to fix the issue before the CVSA operation safety week.

3. Ensure your ELD is in compliance

The first phase of the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate commenced in 2016. Several techniques for recording hours of service (HOS) and commercial motor vehicle data have been phased out since then. ELDs are required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) across the industry as of December 16, 2019.

Failure to comply with ELD regulations will result in expensive penalties. Any driver or carrier who does not use certified devices or who is unable to show/transfer data from an ELD when required will be deemed to have "no record of duty status."

Related: 5 Ways to Use ELDs to Increase Profits

Other ways to consider to stay safe during the Operation Safety Week 2022

While the three ways mentioned above are the main focus of this year’s Operation Safety Week, there are other things you might consider to keep yourself safe. For example:

1. Pay attention to your surroundings and don't lose sight of what's going on around you on the road.
2. Maintain a safe following distance regardless of who is in front of you. A trailer carrying up to 80,000 pounds of cargo will take longer than normal to come to a complete stop.
3. Check your side mirrors frequently for vehicles entering your "no zones," and be wary of tailgaters.
4. Don't let non-driving stuff distract you.
5. Wear your seatbelts and stay away from handheld gadgets while driving.
6. Try not to resist weariness. Take regular breaks and keep track of your service hours.
7. Carry the relevant documentation (license, insurance, duty logs, papers for the goods on board).

Final thoughts

Now that you know what CVSA is focusing on during the upcoming Operation Safety Week 2022 taking place July 10-16, it’s time to prepare yourself and your truck to comply with its regulations.

Contact the organization or department in charge of commercial motor vehicle safety in your region to learn about Operation Safe Driver Week enforcement events in your area.

Most importantly, remember to keep your vehicle and its documents in order at all times so you don’t face any charges or troubles. Additionally, check out our webinar to prevent the FMCSA compliance intervention, or come out of it winning.