Officers catch 12 dodgy drivers on lorry patrol
Police use lorry cab to catch drivers out
POLICE patrolling the M1 have gained a fresh perspective by using a lorry cab to catch HGV drivers breaking the law.
An unmarked cab driven by undercover police saw Leicestershire Police stop 19 lorry drivers in one day.
Operation Tramline took place on Thursday, October 11 when officers in an unmarked HGV “tractor unit” patrolled the M1 to catch drivers breaking the law on the road.
The operation reported 12 drivers for seatbelt offences, three for using mobile phones, one for a defective tyre, one of using a stolen vehicle and one vehicle was seized for having no tax.
Pc Tony Bunker, who led the operation, said: “While it is extremely disappointing that we are not getting the compliance that we would expect from a number of HGV drivers in terms of driving behaviours, the operation has been successful and we hope this sends a strong message to other HGV drivers on the road.
“It is important that we continue to enforce road traffic law to keep the motoring public of Leicestershire and the East Midlands safe and go about their journeys unhindered.”
The operation was done through the Fatal Four campaign.
It aims catch drivers of all vehicles committing one of the “fatal four” offences – speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, drink or drug-impaired driving and using a phone while behind the wheel.
The county force has also said it will continue to work with
The operation has been succesful and we hope this sends a strong message to other HGV drivers Tony Bunker, left
Highways England to tackle the behaviour of motorists and that the tractor unit will return in the future.
The lorry has previously been used in Leicestershire to target all drivers. Last year, police driving a lorry helped other officers pull over more than 100 motorists on the M1 as part of a nationwide operation to prevent road deaths.