The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement officers will participate in the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Operation Safe Driver Week July 16-20 at various locations around the state. This initiative is aimed at identifying unsafe driving behaviors by commercial motor vehicle drivers and those drivers of other vehicles operating around the commercial motor vehicles. 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 94 percent of all crashes can be attributed to some form of driver error. MVE Chief David Lorenzen said, “With these events, we’re actively seeking out those drivers who pose a danger on the road.”

The events will be held in Council Bluffs, Mason City, Iowa City, Davenport, Des Moines, Sioux City and the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area. During each event, officers will be issuing citations and warnings to those drivers in an effort to reduce crashes caused by dangerous driving behaviors.   

Examples of dangerous driver behaviors that enforcement personnel will be tracking throughout Operation Safe Driver Week are speeding, distracted driving, texting, failure to use a seatbelt while operating a CMV or in a passenger vehicle, following too closely, improper lane change, failure to obey traffic control devices, etc. 

Operation Safe Driver Week is sponsored by CVSA, in partnership with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and with support from industry and transportation safety organization.