THE Commercial Vehicle Unit of Warwickshire Police detected 211 offences during a five-day operation in support of Project Edward – the campaign for Every Day Without A Road Death.
Offenders were caught by officers taking the Op Tramline supercab – a specially-adapted HGV owned by Highways England – out on to the roads.
During the week, 41 people received Traffic Offence Reports (TORs) for using a handheld mobile phone whilst driving – often at high speed (a potential six points on their licence and a £200 fine).
A further 68 were issued to people not wearing a seatbelt (potential £100 fine), while 20 people received TORs for not being in control of their vehicle (3 points and £100 fine) and 12 were stopped for speeding.
One man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply cannabis after he was stopped for traffic offences on the M40 southbound.
A significant quantity of the drug was recovered following a search of the vehicle.
One HGV was seen driving on the hard shoulder at over 50mph on the M42 by Solihull where a family could potentially be stationary if broken down.
When officers looked into his cab he was spotted on his mobile phone.
Another driver, not content with being on the phone, thought he would read his delivery notes whilst driving at the national speed limit on the M40.
Officers also observed a driver watching TV on a laptop whilst travelling on the M40 at nearly 60mph.
PS Carl Stafford said “This is sadly only a snapshot of the week’s findings and unfortunately demonstrates real driver behaviour taking place on a daily basis on our roads.
“We will continue to proactively police by looking for people that could pose serious danger to themselves and other road-users.”
