As millions of motorists gear up for holiday travel, California Highway Patrol (CHP) is encouraging safety on the roadways during its annual Thanksgiving Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP).
For the first time, the agency's MEP will include additional measures targeted at the safety of truck drivers.
CHP’s Commercial Vehicle Section will reportedly send critical safety messages directly to commercial truck drivers through their Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs).
Under federal and state rules, all commercial truck drivers must use ELDs to track hours of service and ensure compliance with California regulations.
However, a new update to the technology will allow CHP to also use ELDs as a way to provide real-time safety alerts.
Short, geo-targeted messages are set to notify drivers of roadway hazards, long-term closures, enforcement operations, and high-crash areas.
Officials say these alerts will give drivers a warning ahead of time to slow down or prepare for upcoming conditions.
In addition to delivering safety alerts, CHP will reportedly ramp up enforcement efforts to address unsafe driving behaviors that contribute to crashes, such as speeding, following too closely, improper lane changes, reckless driving, and distracted driving.
Officers say they will actively patrol from Wednesday through Sunday to ensure compliance and educate drivers about traffic safety.
CHP encourages commercial drivers to stay alert, follow traffic laws, and utilize the information provided through their ELDs to make safer driving decisions.
