A day with Roads Policing Unit officers tackling road safety in Essex

Our Roads Policing officers have been out on patrol with a clear mission: to keep our roads safe, reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI), and keep traffic moving smoothly.

On Thursday 24 July, they were out responding to collisions, stopping dangerous drivers, and supporting major incidents.

The team focuses on tackling the Fatal Four—the four most common causes of serious and fatal collisions:

• Speeding
• Drink and drug driving
• Not wearing a seatbelt
• Using a mobile phone while driving

Another key focus is removing uninsured vehicles from the roads. Driving without insurance isn’t just a paperwork issue: it often goes hand-in-hand with other criminal activity. Uninsured drivers are more likely to be involved in collisions and less likely to take responsibility for the harm they cause. Taking these vehicles off the road protects everyone.
The team seized five uninsured vehicles, one driver was also found to have no road tax.

Here is a snapshot of the day:

• Assisted – 7 broken down vehicles
• Issued – a prohibition notice was issued to a vehicle that was deemed as unsafe to drive – this can relate to cracks in windscreen, faulty brakes, faulty seatbelts and tyres
• Captured and dealt with 11 speeding offences on the A120 in Takeley
• Attended and assisted with four road traffic collisions, including one with a serious injury in Colchester, one in Southend where a car flipped onto another vehicle, luckily no-one was injured, and another on the A127 in Brentwood, where a motorbike left the carriageway – the rider was located and found to be under the influence of drink and in possession of an offensive weapon – he remains in hospital
• Assisted - 5 disruptions on highways
• Arrested – A 36 year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drink drive in Thorpe-le-Soken
• Assisted – 1 concern for welfare in Clacton
• A stolen vehicle was found after a commercial burglary in Grays
• Arrested – 2 for drug driving
• Issued – Traffic Offence Report for careless driving
• Carried out a speed check in Brentwood – compliance of drivers with the 30mph limit was good overall – however 13 Traffic Offence Reports were issued for excess speeding
• Issued – 1 fine for lack of compliance with an operator’s licence

Work was also undertaken under Op Vision Zero, which is our ambition to have zero road deaths by 2040 or sooner. Two officers on the shift dealt with the following:

• 4 seatbelt offences
• 18 excess speed offences
• 2 no insurance and vehicles seized
• 2 arrests for no MOT
• 1 arrest for drug driving

Meanwhile, the Commercial Vehicle Unit plays a crucial role in keeping the strategic road network safe and efficient. By targeting unsafe HGVs and ensuring compliance with roadworthiness and driver hours regulations, they help prevent serious incidents and reduce delays on some of our busiest routes.

The team made several stops including five people reported for using a mobile phone whilst driving, one driver was reported for not wearing a seatbelt and one vehicle seized for the driver having no insurance.

From high-speed pursuits to roadside checks, every action taken by the Roads Policing Unit is about one thing - saving lives.

Help us reduce road collisions and casualties in Essex and make our roads even safer. Report instances of poor and dangerous driving through Safer Essex Roads Partnership's Extra Eyes initiative.

More than ever, irresponsible, dangerous and illegal road behaviour is being recorded by road users. Through Extra Eyes this footage can be sent to, and reviewed by, an investigator within Road Policing at Essex Police.

Find out how by visiting Safer Essex Roads Partnership website.

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