Operation Safe Driver Week Targets Cars and Trucks
Operation Safe Driver Week runs through Saturday. It is a US, Canada and Mexico traffic enforcement and awareness campaign led by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). Law enforcement monitors both commercial and passenger vehicles, with a specific focus on identifying and penalizing reckless, careless, and dangerous driving behaviors.
Reckless and careless driving is the 2026 focus. While that is a fairly broad description it includes:
- Speeding
- Following too close
- Improper lane changes
- Distracted driving
- Ignoring traffic control devices
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) Troopers will be monitor not only commercial trucks but also passenger vehicles and how the enteract with trucking on the roadways.
The Alabama Trucking Association calls the enforcement and awareness campaign a coordinated high-visibility effort to improve drivers’ behaviors through education, traffic-enforcement strategies and driver interactions with law enforcement.
While drivers of passenger vehicle will receive extra scrutiny for they way they enteract with commercial trucking, stops of commercial vehicles could lead to a Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) violation for drivers holding a commercial drivers license (CDL) that will remain on the record for years.
Annually, there are more than 4,000 crashes involving large commercial trucks in Alabama according to ALEA data. These collisions produce more than 2,000 injuries and 150 fatalities each year but they are not all the fault of the truck drivers.
ALEA Trooper Sgt. Reginal King points out that motorist must realize they are sharing the roadway with vehicles much bigger and heavier than them. Commercial vehicles carry heavy weight and their size makes it impossible for drivers to stop quickly or make quick reactions when cutoff by a passenger vehicle or to even see you.
"We always encourage motorists to use extra caution as you share the road with these larger vehicles, Sgt. King told Townsqure Media Tuscaloosa. "These larger vehicles have more blind spots than passenger vehicles and they also require a greater distance to stop. Just give them the extra room they need to safely manuever safely."
Many negative interactions between commeracial and passenger vehicles can be avoided by remember a saying, "If you can't see the truck driver's side mirrors, they can't see you."
The Alabama Trucking Association has some advise for truckers than applies to all drivers, "Safety is an all day, every day, year-round focus for Alabama Trucking, and should be for any carrier on the road as well."
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