FMCSA, CVSA kick off ‘Operation Safe Driver’ at ATA conference

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Updated Oct 20, 2010
CVSA executive director Steve Keppler addresses ATA members and media to kick off Operation Safe Driver.CVSA executive director Steve Keppler addresses ATA members and media to kick off Operation Safe Driver.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration kicked off ‘Operation Safe Driver’ Monday, Oct. 18, during the American Trucking Associations’ MC&E Conference in Phoenix. During the week of Oct. 17-23, Operation Safe Driver police will target aggressive and fatigued truck and bus drivers, as well as car drivers operating unsafely around them.  

“Each year unsafe and aggressive driving is a major factor contributing to the deaths of approximately 40,000 people on North American highways,” says Steve Keppler, CVSA executive director. “Of these deaths, nearly 5,000 of them are related to truck and bus crashes. The key to driving szafetly around large trucks and buses is to share the road and recognize how these large commercial vehicles operate.”

“This is the third year for us to join together and deliver a week-long safe driver message through stepped up enforcement and education,” says FMCSA administrator Anne Ferro. “We can’t spread the gospel of highway safety without the valued partnerships in both law enfrocement and the motor carrier industry.”