Operation Safe Driver: Efforts Nationwide and in Arizona
In an effort to reduce motor vehicle accidents, Arizona's partipcipation in the annual "Operation Safe Driver" campaign lead to almost 800 speeding and transportation-related citations, many of them issued to commercial truck drivers.

February 07, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) teamed up with the Arizona Trucking Association to increase traffic enforcement and educate the public throughout the month of October in conjunction with the "Operation Safe Driver" campaign headed by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). As part of the annual campaign, increased enforcement efforts are aimed at bringing light to and curbing moving violations by both passenger and commercial vehicles that often result in motor vehicle accidents.

After evaluating violations stemming from increased enforcement, the results from Operation Safe Driver 2010 show that passenger vehicles speed around semi trucks at an alarming rate. Speeding was the most common violation by passenger vehicles, but the number of violations for failure to obey traffic signals and failure to wear a seatbelt were also high. Nationally, 3,970 speeding tickets were issued drivers of passenger vehicles -- which accounts over 50 percent of the 7,700 citations issued to passenger vehicles, according to the CVSA. Of the over seven thousand tickets issued to non-commercial drivers, Arizona accounted for 794 of the citations.

Also, nationally, law enforcement issued 1,195 speeding tickets to commercial truck drivers (about 13 percent of all trucking violations). The largest increase of warnings and citations given to truck drivers was for failure to wear a seatbelt at 1,055 violations compared to 2009's 672 violations, according to the CVSA.

In addition to increased enforcement, Arizona Highway Patrol Officers and the Arizona Trucking Association partnered to teach the "Teens and Trucks" driving course. The course educates teens how to stay safe while sharing the roads with semis and other large commercial vehicles.

Sharing the Road: Driving Safety Tips

All drivers share the responsibility to keep themselves and other safe on Arizona's roads, and not just during Operation Safe Driver week. The DPS suggests the following tips for staying safe when driving near a semi-truck:
- Avoid a truck's blind spots
- Keep space between your vehicle and a truck so that the truck driver can see you
- Never tailgate a truck
- Obey the speed limit
- Trucks are wide, so give them plenty of room
- Always wear your seatbelt, even when not driving around semis

While following safe driving tips can help prevent collisions between cars and trucks traveling on Arizona's highways, accidents still happen. If you are injured in an accident with a semi, speak with an experienced personal injury attorney in your area to protect your rights and ensure that you receive the medical treatment that you deserve.

Press Release Contact Information:

The Breslo Law Firm
The Breslo Law Firm
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Scottsdale
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