During Operation Safe Driver Week, an initiative by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) focusing on traffic enforcement and safe-driving awareness, both commercial and passenger vehicle drivers faced heightened scrutiny from law enforcement officers in Canada and the U.S. The week, which took place from July 10-16, saw a total of 11,448 traffic stops. Notably, commercial vehicle drivers received the majority of warnings and citations. Out of the 4,494 tickets issued, 2,634 were to commercial motor vehicle drivers, with speeding being the top offense. This year’s emphasis on speeding violations resulted in 1,594 warnings and 731 tickets for commercial drivers and 625 warnings and 1,293 citations for passenger vehicle drivers.
Moreover, the Operation Safe Driver Week shed light on other unsafe behaviors. Violations related to “other state/local driver violations,” including issues such as registration and insurance problems, constituted a significant portion of the tickets and citations. Additionally, failure to wear seat belts was a notable concern, with a total of 512 warnings and 553 tickets. Commercial vehicle drivers also faced penalties for texting or using handheld devices while operating their vehicles, receiving 156 warnings and 132 tickets for these violations.
In other trucking news, the New York City Council recently passed a bill to establish at least three parking locations for tractor-trailers in the city by the end of 2025. The bill mandates the provision of off-street parking for commercial trucks on real property owned by the city or other governmental entities. This move comes in response to ongoing parking challenges faced by truckers in the city, which has seen enforcement actions against illegally parked trucks. Additionally, Freightliner announced plans to introduce Cummins’ natural gas X15N engine as an option for its Cascadia trucks, with production set to commence in 2025. This engine, particularly effective when running on renewable natural gas, significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and achieves lower NOx levels than the 2024 EPA and CARB standards.
