Dangerous driving is the root cause for most of the dangers out on the roads. Even with poor visibility, aging infrastructure, and unclear GPS routes, the number one cause of vehicle crashes is driver behavior. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s “Large Truck Crash Causation Study,” the FMCSA found that 88% of truck crashes and 93% of passenger car crashes are due to unsafe behavior.
Unsafe driving behavior is made of a long series of preventable behaviors. These include texting, not using a seat belt, failure to signal, and being distracted while driving. In order to bring more attention to the issue, and to disincentivize dangerous driving behaviors, the FMCSA and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) have teamed up for the 2018 Operation Safe Driver Week.
During the week of July 15 through July 21, officers will be focusing extra attention on safe driving enforcement. There will also be locally held events where officers will be educating commercial and passenger drivers about safe driving practices.
While safe driving is important every week of the year, make sure you spend this week taking extra care with your driving procedures. Officers will be looking for drivers who:
- Aren’t wearing seat belts and look like they’re driving while distracted.
- Fail to obey traffic signs and signals.
- Are driving aggressively or with incomplete attention to other drivers’ movements.
During last year’s Operation Safe Driver Week, an overwhelming majority of semi-truck driver warnings and citations were related to state and local moving violations. Speeding and not wearing a seat belt for the second and third most common causes for warnings and citations. So alert your drivers with a preemptive focus on local and state laws, and make sure safe driving becomes a habit all year long.
Unsafe driving is one of the biggest costs your company can face. It results in expensive claims, dangerous situations, and a poor business reputation. A company-wide trend of safe driving, however, can save your company money. Go to J.E.B. Insurance Services, LLC. to see how safe driving can improve your insurance. We provide commercial truck insurance in the states of Florida, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska.