More than 300 driving offences detected by Warwickshire Police in record-breaking operation

During the five-day Operation Tramline ending on Friday 13 November 2020, officers working in collaboration with Highways England and supported by the Operations Patrol Unit and the Special Constabulary detected a record 317 offences including 69 drivers who were using a handheld mobile phone whilst driving (six points and £200 fine).

In one incident it took two police cars to stop the driver of an HGV travelling at 60mph on the M40 as he was so distracted by his mobile phone that he did not seem to notice the blue lights and sirens.

He was also not wearing a seatbelt and the load he was carrying was not properly secured.

The Commercial Vehicle Unit also captured footage of a lorry driver believed to have been watching a video whilst driving.

The value of the supercab and the elevated position it gives officers to see into vehicles was again demonstrated by this businessman conducting his work whilst driving.

The Commercial Vehicle Unit also captured footage of a lorry driver believed to have been watching a video whilst driving.

The value of the supercab and the elevated position it gives officers to see into vehicles was again demonstrated by this businessman conducting his work whilst driving.

The CVU was also able to target criminals using the roads. One vehicle was found to be laden with counterfeit cigarettes.

The vehicle and goods were seized by HMRC.

The driver also had no insurance and no licence.

The CVU also stopped numerous overweight vehicles and Special Constables and OPU officers used mobile weigh plates to check the weight of vehicles at the roadside. One vehicle was 53% overweight gross and 67% on rear Axle. It was prohibited and immobilised and took the driver nearly 4 hours to unload the vehicle after another attempt showed it was still overweight.

Sgt Carl Stafford said: “While this has been a record-breaking operation for offences detected by our officers, it has also been an extremely disappointing one, as even with a reduced amount of traffic from the current epidemic we are seeing an increase in offences.

The increase in mobile phone usage whilst driving has been staggering despite all of the publicity and increase in penalties people are still selfishly putting themselves and others at risk by being distracted by their phones, exacerbated even more when in charge of heavy goods vehicles.

"Warwickshire Police is taking a zero-tolerance approach when dealing with this offence and all drivers of HGVs will be reported to court and the traffic commissioner.

“We also found that most of the drivers stopped with no seatbelt on actually made a conscious effort to fasten it behind them, I can’t comprehend the mentality of not using this non-intrusive device which is proven to save lives.

“A huge thank you to all the volunteers and officers who participated in this latest operation to make our roads safer. I hope some of this footage shows the worth of this vital collaborative and innovative operation.”

Highways England assistant regional safety co-ordinator, Marie Biddulph, said: “It is frustrating to see the number of drivers who are willing to put themselves and others at risk on our roads. It is particularly disappointing that almost 100 drivers chose not to wear their seatbelts and 69 people were seen using a handheld mobile phone while at the wheel.

“While we know the majority of people are law-abiding, responsible drivers, there is clearly still a minority who will ignore the law and drive dangerously.

“Through our Operation Tramline cabs, and the work of our police partners, we want these drivers to know they can be seen and they need to change their behaviour – for the safety of all road users.”

Officers will continue to use the HGV supercab to spot and film driver offences in all vehicles on the major routes through Warwickshire.

During Operation Tramline week Warwickshire Police were also delighted to hear that the Commercial Vehicle Unit had won the ‘Public Service Operator of the Year’ award in the UK Logistics Awards 2020 after being shortlisted in September.

Clips of some of the offences being filmed can be seen in the video attached to this article.