Commercial Vehicle Unit report 122 drivers in road safety operation

Commercial Vehicle Unit tackles road safety in an operation that saw 122 drivers reported for a variety of offences.

As part of Operation Tramline, Essex Police’s Commercial Vehicle Unit (CVU) used a supercab to identify unsafe and distracting driver behaviour on the major routes across our county.

The supercab was provided by National Highways between 1-5 July as part of a national project which aims to reduce collisions and incidents, and improve safety, journey time and reliability on major roads.

During the five-day period, the CVU were supported by our Road Crime Team to stop 139 vehicles, focussing on the major roads such as the M11, M25, A12 and A13, as follows:
• 58 HGV
• 28 LGV
• 47 car
• 4 motorcycles
• 2 others

The height of the supercab allows an officer to look into larger vehicles to observe distracting behaviours such as mobile phone use. Once a behaviour or cause for concern is spotted, the vehicle is stopped, and the driver spoken to about the offence with the incident being captured on camera to assist in proceeding to court.

Disappointingly, mobile phone usage and seatbelt offences remain high with 16 and 43 drivers (respectively) reported by officers. During each of the stops, our officers remind drivers of their responsibilities to look after themselves and uphold the law.

Roads Policing Inspector Emma Patterson said:
As officers, it’s our job to uphold the law, but we need all drivers to work with us and play their part in keeping the roads safe for everyone.
Fifteen drivers were reported for driving without due care and consideration for other road users and a further three drivers reported for speeding. These are offences that could potentially have a very serious, if not tragic turn of events, but they are easily avoided. By slowing down and adhering to the speed limits, everyone will arrive at their destination safely.
Six drivers didn’t have insurance and, should they be concerned in a collision, they won’t have the legal support they need. We also seized three of those vehicles, meaning the drivers and passengers had to make their way home using alternative arrangements.

Offences during the five-day period included:
• 16 mobile phone offences
• 43 seatbelt offences
• 3 speeding
• 6 no insurance
• 15 driving without due care or consideration
• 5 insecure loads
• 2 stopping on hard shoulders

Inspector Patterson went on to say:
An insecure load is the responsibility of the driver who must check that they are safe to travel. Five drivers were reported for this offence.
If their load had fallen from the lorry, it could have an exceptionally bad outcome and bring everything to a halt, affecting businesses and travel times for everyone. It could cause damage to cars, structural damage to our roads or potentially hurt an innocent party, should the shed load fall into the path of an oncoming vehicle. That’s why it’s important to check prior to setting off.

Operation Tramline supports Operation Vision Zero, our ambition to have no read deaths in Essex by 2040 or sooner.

We're offering more ways for our communities to stay up to date with our work across Essex.

Our e-newsletter, Dispatch, delivers news, information, and advice from Essex Police.

Dispatch is a ‘one stop shop’ for local police news – direct from the source. 

Sign up is completely free and you can unsubscribe at any time.