Oct 15, 2008 10:00 AM

Each year, more than 44,000 people die on roadways throughout North America, often the direct result of unsafe and aggressive driving practices by passenger and commercial vehicle drivers. During the week of October 19-25, law enforcement across North America will respond by targeting these drivers during the Operation Safe Driver campaign.

"In large-truck crashes where one or more deaths result from the crash, 88 percent of the time it is attributable to driver error by both car and truck drivers. Operation Safe Driver will have a razor-sharp focus on targeting and taking aggressive enforcement action for poor decisions made by drivers of commercial vehicles and those four-wheelers operating unsafely around them," said Stephen F. Campbell, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). "We are also rolling out education and awareness strategies to combat this epidemic. Far too many deaths are occurring, and it is unacceptable to stand by and watch the carnage continue."

CVSA, in partnership with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), state, provincial, and local law enforcement and industry, launched the campaign in 2007 to combat the number of deaths in crashes involving large trucks and passenger vehicles.

Inattention, insufficient awareness of traffic conditions, and unsafe maneuvers by drivers are far and away the leading causes of fatal crashes involving passenger cars and commercial vehicles," said John H. Hill, administrator of the FMCSA.

Operation Safe Driver will hold activities across the United States, Canada, and Mexico that aim to increase commercial vehicle and non-commercial vehicle traffic enforcement; safety belt enforcement; driver roadside inspections; driver regulatory compliance; implementation of commercial driver educational and awareness programs to the motor carrier population; and awareness to the motoring public about safe operations around commercial motor vehicles.

For more information, visit www.cvsa.org/safedriver.