Speeding remained the most frequently cited unsafe driving behavior during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s 2026 Operation Safe Driver Week, even as this year’s campaign placed additional emphasis on reckless, careless and dangerous driving.
Law enforcement officers interacted with 8,083 commercial and passenger vehicle drivers during the July 12-18 campaign, issuing 3,968 warnings and 2,604 citations. Agencies from 36 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces and Mexico participated.
Commercial motor vehicle drivers received 3,409 warnings and 1,956 citations across all violations, compared with 559 warnings and 648 citations issued to passenger vehicle motorists.
Speeding Remained the Leading Violation
Of the unsafe driving behaviors recorded during the week, speeding produced the highest number of enforcement actions. Officers issued 1,003 warnings and 691 citations for speeding-related violations.
Commercial vehicle operators received 772 warnings and 342 citations for speeding. Passenger vehicle motorists received 231 warnings and 349 citations, putting the number of speeding tickets issued to the two groups nearly even despite commercial operators accounting for substantially more of the overall enforcement activity.
The results continued a pattern CVSA has highlighted through Operation Safe Driver Week, with speeding remaining a major focus alongside distracted, aggressive and other unsafe driving behaviors.
This year, however, the campaign specifically targeted reckless, careless and dangerous driving. CVSA defines those behaviors as showing a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of other people or property.
Officers issued 83 warnings and 33 citations in that category. Commercial vehicle operators received 50 warnings and 22 citations, while passenger vehicle motorists received 33 warnings and 11 citations.
Seat Belt Violations Generated Hundreds of Citations
Seat belt use also accounted for a significant share of the enforcement activity. Officers issued 292 warnings and 311 citations for failure to wear a seat belt.
Most involved commercial vehicle operators, who received 267 warnings and 270 citations. Passenger vehicle motorists accounted for 25 warnings and 41 citations.
The seat belt numbers stood out from the speeding results in another way. While speeding citations were almost evenly divided between commercial and passenger vehicles, nearly nine out of every 10 seat belt citations recorded during the campaign went to commercial vehicle operators.
Operation Safe Driver Week is held annually to address unsafe behavior by commercial and passenger vehicle operators through enforcement, interaction with law enforcement and public outreach. The 2026 results showed that the campaign’s specific focus can change from year to year, but speeding continues to account for more warnings and citations than the reckless driving behavior emphasized during this year’s event.
The TDUSA editorial team creates practical, driver focused content covering trucking news, industry updates, safety, regulations, and career information for professional truck drivers across the United States. Each article is built to reflect real world experience, industry developments, and information drivers can use on and off the road.
Last Updated: October 9, 2026
Source: The Trucker
