Speeding tops list of most cited violations during Operation Safe Driver Week

Greenbelt, MD — Law enforcement officials issued more than 26,000 citations and warnings to passenger-vehicle, truck and bus drivers during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual Operation Safe Driver Week.

From July 10 to July 16, law enforcement officials throughout North America remained on the lookout for drivers engaging in unsafe behaviors including speeding, following too closely, driving distracted, making improper lane changes, failing to wear a seat belt and driving while impaired.

Citations and warnings related to speeding were most common among both passenger-vehicle drivers and commercial truck/bus drivers. Passenger-vehicle drivers were assessed 7,096 citations and 4,722 warnings for speeding, while truck and bus drivers received 1,490 citations and 2,577 warnings.

Citing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, CVSA says more than 11,000 speeding-related deaths occurred in the United States in 2020.

The next most common citations issued to truck and bus drivers were failure to use seat belt (735), failure to obey a traffic-control device (505), texting/using a handheld phone (239) and improper lane change (84).

For passenger-vehicle drivers, the next most common citations involved failure to wear a seat belt (1,156), reckless driving (703), improper lane change (263) and texting/using a handheld phone (257).

The next Operation Safe Driver Week is slated for July 9-15.