If your business operates a commercial fleet, or if you regularly have licensed commercial truck drivers on the open roads in Michigan, you might want to get this information into the hands of every driver on the team. The Michigan State Police have announced the roll out Monday of a major, summer-long, enforcement operation they are calling “Summer of Semi Safe D.”
According to Capt. Michael Krumm, the commander of the Michigan State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, “This enforcement effort is in direct response to what we saw on our roads in 2016 — a 41-percent increase in deaths involving commercial vehicles.”
In an effort to reduce commercial vehicle crashes and deaths, Michigan State Police motor carrier officers are participating in the new summer long enforcement operation, saying special attention will be paid to semi-tractor trailers.
Why single out semi tractor trailers? They were involved in 72-percent of the 2016 deadly accidents involving a commercial motor vehicle.
The initiative begins next Monday, June 26, and focuses week-by-week on unsafe driver behaviors, like speeding and distracted driving, on dangerous roadways as well as at intersections and construction sites.
Capt. Krumm says, “Michigan continues to be one of the safest states in the Midwest for commercial vehicle traffic, but the steep rise needs to be addressed.”
The dates and emphasis area of enforcement are as follows:
|
In addition to enforcement, motor carrier officers will be educating drivers on behaviors that lead to accidents as well as providing information on the ‘Trucker’s Against Trafficking’ program, which enlists the help of truck drivers to recognize and report instances of human trafficking.
This initiative is also part of the statewide ‘Toward Zero Deaths’ traffic safety campaign, which is based on the national strategy on highway safety that seeks to reduce the number of traffic deaths.
Dispatchers and fellow drivers will do well to forewarn commercially licensed drivers and vehicles about the summer campaign ahead.
