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Truck Safety Campaign Reveals High Number of Violations by Truckers

A recent truck safety campaign in October showed the need for increased focus on safety issues for truckers. The third annual Operation Safe Driver campaign was meant to crack down on violations by commercial truckers, and was conducted between October 18th and October 24th.

According to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance which sponsored the event, trucker behavior does not really seem to have improved. Even as the number of truck accident and fatalities are dropping nationwide, poor driving behaviors are actually increasing. The organization points out that poor driving behaviors are being seen not only in truckers, but also in motorists. Overall, the campaign ended in 20,118 drivers of commercial motor vehicles, including buses and trucks, being contacted. Out of these, 6,887 drivers were given warnings, and 8,067 drivers were given citations. That means there were 0.34 warnings issued per contact, and 0.40 citations per contact. That’s double the number of warnings and citations issued in 2008. Last year, there were 16,784 contacts, out of which 3,274 drivers were given warnings and 6,143 drivers were cited. That was an average of 0.19 warnings per contact, and 0.37 citations per contact.

The organizers of the campaign have criticism for motorist behavior too. According to them, there were 10,928 non commercial motor vehicle driver contacts during the campaign this year. Out of these, 3,818 motorists were issued warnings and 10,365 motorists were issued citations. That is an average of 0.35 warnings and 0.95 citations per contact, an increase from 2008. Last year, there had been 11,151 non commercial motorist vehicle contacts out of which 1,808 motorists received warnings while 8,005 motorists received citations. That’s an average of 0.16 warnings per motorist and 0.75 citations per motorist.

There was some good news coming out of the campaign. According to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, there were improvements relating to out of service violations, as well as citation issues after roadside inspections of commercial motor vehicles. Out of 30,290 roadside inspections of commercial motor vehicles conducted during Operation Safe Driver this year, 5.4 percent resulted in the driver being placed out of service. Last year, out of 32,708 roadside inspections, 5.3 percent resulted in the driver being placed out of service. Operation Safe Driver was conducted at 1,171 locations in the US and Canada and involved the participation of 5,231 law enforcement officers.

Overall, the campaign shows that there still remains the need for a lot of effort to educate truckers about safe driving on the road. It’s a fact that the number of truck accident fatalities has been declining nationwide, but the drop hasn’t been as sharp as California truck accident lawyers would have liked. Most importantly, even when these accidents don’t end in a fatality, they do result in catastrophic injuries that can seriously impact a person’s quality of life. The resulting costs, including medical bills and litigation expenses can be huge, and cost the economy millions of dollars a year. That should be enough reason to invest heavily in truck safety.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of truck accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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