DPS Motor Carrier Compliance Officers to Participate In Operation SafeDRIVE

Georgia Department of Public Safety Motor Carrier Compliance Division to Participate In Operation SafeDRIVE

Joins safety effort to prevent crashes with commercial motor carriers

(Atlanta, GA) – Georgia’s Motor Carrier Compliance Division (MCCD) of the Georgia Department of Public Safety will be joining forces with fellow law enforcement partners in South Carolina, Florida, and North Carolina to conduct quarterly, concentrated highway traffic enforcement periods this year as part of SafeDRIVE. SafeDRIVE (Distracted Reckless Impaired Visibility Enforcement) efforts aim to eliminate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) traffic collisions through periods of high visibility enforcement along the southeast I-95 corridor – where 13 percent of the nation’s fatal CMV collisions occur. Enforcement periods will take place June 22-24, August 3-5, and October 5-7. 

The Georgia Department of Public Safety is excited to be a part of this initiative to make it safer for everyone to travel through our state,” said Major Jeremy Vickery, MCCD Commanding Officer. “We are committed to reducing dangerous driver behaviors like aggressive or distracted driving and educating all motorists, including both passenger vehicle and CMV drivers, on how to share the road safely.”

SafeDRIVE’s enforcement efforts will focus on both passenger vehicle and CMV driver behaviors, and include monitoring for aggressive driving, speeding, tailgating, failing to wear safety belts, distracted driving, and driving under the influence. Efforts will also help ensure CMV drivers are following industry regulations, including hours of service compliance, commercial driver license compliance, medical certification, and commercial motor vehicle credentialing.

SafeDRIVE’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 all motorists on how to share the road safely.

• 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 CMV driver in their side mirror. Signal clearly and safely pass the truck or bus. Don’t linger in the blind spot. Make sure the truck or bus is visible in your rearview mirror before you pull in front.
• Don’t cut off large vehicles. 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 SafeDRIVE is to eliminate highway fatalities due to CMV collisions. All road users should share the road safely.