Operation Safe Driver Week, focusing on reckless, careless and dangerous driving, held July 12-18 across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, resulted in 3,968 warnings and 2,604 tickets/citations to commercial motor vehicle (CMV) and passenger vehicle (PV) drivers for unsafe driving, according to statistics released by the non-profit Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

Law enforcement agencies representing 36 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces and Mexico participated in this year’s initiative. Officers issued 3,409 warnings and 1,956 tickets/citations to commercial motor vehicle drivers, and 559 warnings and 648 tickets/citations to passenger vehicle drivers for various unsafe driving behaviors.

The goal of Operation Safe Driver Week is to improve driver behavior through traffic enforcement, direct interaction with law enforcement, and public outreach and awareness.

Speeding was again the most frequently cited unsafe driving behavior during Operation Safe Driver Week.

Officers issued 1,003 warnings and 691 citations for speeding-related violations. Commercial motor vehicle drivers accounted for 772 warnings and 342 citations, while passenger vehicle drivers accounted for 231 warnings and 349 citations.

Failure to wear a seatbelt was another leading violation during the campaign.

Law enforcement issued 292 warnings and 311 citations for seatbelt non-compliance. Commercial motor vehicle drivers received 267 warnings and 270 citations, while passenger vehicle drivers received 25 warnings and 41 citations.

Texting or using a handheld device while driving resulted in 135 warnings and 181 citations. Commercial motor vehicle drivers accounted for 106 warnings and 136 citations, while passenger vehicle drivers accounted for 29 warnings and 45 citations.

Eighty-three warnings and 33 citations were issued to drivers for reckless, careless and dangerous driving, the focus of this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week. Broken out by driver type, commercial motor vehicle drivers received 50 warnings and 22 citations, and passenger vehicle drivers received 33 warnings and 11 citations.

Officers issued 17 warnings and 26 citations to drivers for possession, use or impairment by drugs or alcohol. Twelve warnings and 22 citations were given to commercial motor vehicle drivers. While passenger vehicle drivers received five warnings and four citations.

More than 2,880 of this year’s driver contacts – over a third of the week’s total – resulted in no citation or warning, with officers instead using the stop as an opportunity to talk with drivers directly about safe driving practices.

Operation Safe Driver Week is part of CVSA’s year-round Operation Safe Driver Program, created to reduce crashes caused by unsafe driving behaviors.