Large trucks and buses are disproportionately involved in both fatal and injury crashes. These vehicles account for only 4 percent of registered vehicles in the U.S., but they are involved in roughly 12 percent of the fatal crashes. 

It is important for law enforcement agencies to understand that these crashes are caused by both the passenger vehicles driving around the commercial vehicles, as well as the large truck and bus drivers. Many fatal crashes result from an illegal action or unsafe behavior on the part of at least one driver involved in the crash, including speeding, following too closely, improper lane changes, and distracted driving (including texting while driving).

Below are no-cost resources that have been developed to assist officers when conducting enforcement on large trucks and buses, and tools to help chief executives educate their communities on the importance of safe driving practices around these large vehicles.

In 2018, the IACP held a large truck and bus collaborative education and enforcement forum to discuss strategies to utilize high-visibility enforcement practices to target unsafe driving behavior that often lead to commercial motor vehicle-involved crashes. The collaborative meeting held breakout sessions that allowed state partners to collectively create campaigns that incorporate issues specific to the regions surrounding the high-risk crash corridors. Following the event, each state created a report including information on the collaborative education and enforcement campaigns that incorporated the problem statement, goal, planning, enforcement education and media outreach, and results from the pilot program. Below are campaign reports from the states that participated in the forum.

Contact

For other inquiries regarding traffic safety initiatives, please contact the IACP's Traffic Safety Initiatives team at [email protected].