Law enforcement agencies through the nation including Missouri are taking part in heightened traffic safety enforcement and education outreach this week to urge motorists to drive safely in and around commercial vehicles

According to a news release, Oct. 15-21 is the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliances’s Safe Driver week. The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, said throughout the week, enforcement personnel will identify and issue warnings and/or citations to commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers and passenger-vehicle drivers exhibiting unsafe driving behaviors on roadways.

Speeding, distracted driving, texting, failure to use a safety belt, traveling too closely, improper lane change, failure to obey traffic control devices and other issues are things the coalition said law enforcement personnel will be tracking throughout the week.

The coalition said, 132 people were killed and 4,034 injured in Missouri traffic crashes involving a CMV in 2016. The agency offers some safety tips to help keep everyone safe when sharing the road with large commercial vehicles:

• Don’t cut off large trucks or buses when passing. Make sure you can see the top of the truck or bus in your rearview mirror before moving back into your original lane.
• Stay out of the “No Zone.” Big trucks have large blind spots on either side and up to 200 feet behind a vehicle. Pass only on the left side.
• Watch your following distance. Keep a 20-25 car length distance around trucks. Can you see the driver in the truck’s side mirrors? If not, the driver cannot see you.

For more information on the Operation Safe Driver Campaign CLICK HERE.

(Photo with story corrected)