2022 Operation Safe Driver Week (July 10-16)

The Operation Safe Drive Week 2022 will commence on July 10th and continue until July 16th. The entire week would be full of activities, and education sessions meant for road safety for both commercial and non-commercial drivers. Irresponsible driving behavior like no seat belt, overspeeding, drinking and driving, improper lane change, etc., results in fatalities. 

As per National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a total of 38,824 people lost their lives in road accidents in 2020, which was the highest number of recorded fatalities after 2007. 

What's the Theme for the Operation Safe Drive Week 2022?

This year the focus is on speeders. The North American traffic law enforcement personnel will monitor the violators and issue warnings and citations to careless and speedy drivers. The motive is to generate awareness among commercial and non-commercial drivers of the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Since 2008, more than 25% of road accidents have been due to overspeeding. 

Not just this, but the per capita death rate has also soared by 6% as compared to the previous years. Thus, this nationwide movement intends to improve the reckless driving behaviors of drivers and consequently see a dip in the number of crashes. 

Important Statistics 

• Speeding led to 26% of all road crashes in 2018, which took the life of 9,378 people.
• On average, 25 people lose their life to fatalities due to overspeeding.
• Distracted driving killed more than 3000 people in 2019.
• 47% of the total vehicle occupants who died in 2019 were without seat belts.
• Wearing seat belts saved almost 14,000 lives in 2017 alone.
• On average, one person dies every 52 minutes due to drunk driving crashes in the USA.
• In 2019, an estimated 10,142 people died due to drunk driving.

Statistics like these make it even more crucial to understand the intensity of the situations arising due to careless road behaviour. 

How can Trucking Companies Contribute to the Operation?

Road safety isn’t just a week’s job. So, trucking companies should create policies and measures to enhance the safety of their drivers. The latest tools and software can help you monitor if they violate rules. Here’s what you can do.

Plan smooth and safe routes

Don’t plan risky and unmaintained routes just to be ahead of the delivery schedule. Implement route optimization software that uses algorithms to create road plans. This way, they don’t have to be speedy to be on time.

Track driving behavior

Know if your drivers are behaving irresponsibly behind the wheel by monitoring their behaviour using dedicated software. This includes overspeeding, improper lane change, driving when tired, resting a hand on the gear lever, etc. Machine learning integrated software can detect whether they are engaged on the phone, smoking, or yawning frequently. 

Integrated software will notify you if their eyes are closed for more than a few seconds, which means they are too sleepy to drive safely.

Ensure they get a good sleeping environment

It’s part of your responsibility to ensure they get a comfortable bed, mattress, and bug-free cabin. Start by replacing regular mattresses with Kogler’s premium mattresses that are built that are clinically designed by a medical team.You can even place customized orders so that they properly fit in your truck cabins.

Conclusion

This year, Operation Safe Drive Week 2022 will start on July 10th and go on till July 16th. The movement aims to generate awareness among commercial and non-commercial drivers to behave responsibly on roads.

Trucking companies can use artificial intelligence and machine learning to monitor drivers’ behavior. Moreover, fleet managers should ensure their drivers sleep on mattresses that are neither too lumpy nor too firm. You can place orders for Kogler’s range of truck bed mattresses that offer great value for money.