Energy marketers with transportation operations should be prepared for a nationwide roadside commercial motor vehicle (CMV) enforcement blitz scheduled to take place July 10 -16, 2022. Operation Safe Driver Week is an annual event organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), a group of state and local transportation enforcement personnel and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The goal of Operation Safe Driver Week is to take unsafe CDL drivers and vehicles off the road, increase awareness of inspections and their function, educate drivers about vehicle maintenance and safe operation and gather general motor carrier compliance data. The joint effort will fan out more than 10,000 enforcement personnel at 1,500 sites nationwide to identify unsafe CDL drivers. During the weeklong enforcement blitz, enforcement personnel will be focusing on unsafe driving violations including speeding, improper lane change, improper lane travel, following too closely, distracted driving (including cell phone use), driving under the influence, failure to wear a seat belt, failure to obey traffic signals and more. Identified unsafe drivers will be pulled over and issued a citation, warning or issued an out of service order for driver and/or vehicle.
According to the FMCSA, the average out of service order costs a CMV carrier approximately $861, excluding fines and penalties. A recent FMCSA CMV crash study found that driver behavior is the cause of 94 percent of all CMV crashes. A total of 4014 people died in CMV crashes in 2020. Fifteen percent of these deaths were truck occupants, 68 percent were occupants of cars and sixteen percent were pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists. The FMCSA is concerned that despite ongoing enforcement efforts, CMV related accidents and deaths continue to rise.
A similar CVSA enforcement blitz in April and focusing on CMV brakes resulted in 8750 inspections nationwide with 1228 out of service orders issued. Energy marketers should alert CDL drivers to the increased level of enforcement during the upcoming Operation Safe Driver Week.