Motor Carrier Compliance Division (MCCD) will join forces with fellow law enforcement partners in Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as state and federal agencies to conduct the second of three concentrated highway traffic enforcement periods, August 3-5, as part of Safe DRIVE.
Safe DRIVE (Distracted Reckless Impaired Visibility Enforcement) efforts aim to eliminate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) traffic collisions through quarterly periods of concentrated patrols along the southeast I-95 corridor where 13 percent of the nation’s fatal CMV collisions occur. The first enforcement period took place June 22-24, and a subsequent enforcement period will take place this fall from October 5-7.
“The Motor Carrier Compliance Division is excited to be a part of this national initiative to make traveling through our state safer on I-95,” said MCCD Commanding Officer Jeremy Vickery. “We are committed to reducing dangerous driver behaviors like aggressive or distracted driving and increasing awareness of the proper way to drive around large vehicles so everyone can share the road safely.”
Safe DRIVE’s enforcement efforts will focus on both passenger and CMV driver behaviors and monitor aggressive driving, speeding, tailgating, failing to wear safety belts, distracted driving, driving under the influence, hours of service compliance, commercial driver license compliance, medical certification, and commercial motor vehicle credentialing.
An estimated 75 percent of fatalities in collisions involving a CMV are the fault of the passenger vehicle. Safe DRIVE’s enforcement efforts complement a national campaign run by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Our Roads, Our Safety, which educates motorists on how to share the road safely with large trucks and buses:
- Stay out of blind spots. Large trucks and buses have huge blind spots on all four sides.
- Pass safely. Make sure you can see the driver in the vehicle mirror. Signal clearly, then move into the left lane and accelerate so that you can get past the truck or bus safely and pass promptly. Don’t linger in the blind spot. Make sure the truck or bus is visible in your rearview mirror before you pull in front; give it extra space.
- Don’t cut off large vehicles. If you move in quickly from either side, you’re likely to be in a blind spot so the driver may not see you in time. Even if you’re visible, the vehicle may not be able to slow quickly enough to avoid a crash – it takes a large truck traveling at highway speeds the length of two football fields to stop.
- Don’t tailgate. Tailgating a truck or bus puts you in a blind spot.
The goal of Safe DRIVE is to eliminate highway fatalities due to CMV collisions. All road users should share the road safely.
