Officers from the Roads Crime Unit at North Wales Police detected almost 90 offences last month as part of Operation Tramline – a roads policing operation using an unmarked heavy goods vehicle.
Across several days in August, North Wales Police had exclusive access to a specialist HGV tractor unit provided by National Highways, which was used to carry out patrols across the strategic road network.
The elevated position of the HGV cab allowed trained officers to easily see what drivers were doing and the offences were captured and recorded on camera.
Once suspected offences were identified, officers from the Roads Crime Unit intercepted the identified vehicles and stopped drivers at the roadside or they were brought into a checkpoint to be spoken to.
Almost 90 offences were identified including:
Drivers using their mobile phones behind the wheel
Drivers not wearing their seatbelt
Insecure loads – which led to further offences being identified such as no valid insurance and defective tyres
Sergeant Danny Rees of the Roads Crime Unit who led on the operation said: “Road safety continues to be a priority for North Wales Police, and the number of offences detected during this operation highlights the importance of this type of proactive road safety initiative.
“It’s disappointing that we continue to see a minority of drivers who are still using their mobile phones behind the wheel despite our regular messages and warnings and even though, if caught, it is now a £200 fine and six penalty points on your licence.
“Using a mobile phone and failing to wear a seatbelt are just two of the ‘Fatal 5’ – the five most common causes of death and serious injuries on our roads, yet these were the most common offences detected during this operation. Choosing to commit a fatal five offence means the driver is not only putting themselves at risk, but also other innocent road users.
“This was the first time in ten years for the operation to come to North Wales and we’d like to thank National Highways for their cooperation and assistance. We will continue to run this operation to detect and deter those who choose to drive in this manner.
“Op Tramline is just one of the many education and enforcement tactics we use to make our roads safer. Road safety is a shared responsibility, so we will continue to work with our partners to educate motorists and try and reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads.”
National Highways Assistant Regional Safety Co-ordinator, Marie Biddulph said: “This year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of Operation Tramline – a partnership with police when officers patrol in our HGVs with the goal of persuading motorists to think carefully about their driving behaviours and ultimately to make our roads safer.
“We know that you’re twice as likely to die in a crash if you don't wear a seat belt and four times more likely to be in a collision if using a phone at the wheel. So it’s disappointing to see some people putting themselves and others at risk in this way.
“Road safety is a shared responsibility – it can’t be achieved in isolation. That is why we work so closely with our police partners as well as with road users to help us achieve our long term ambition together of no-one being hurt on our roads.”
Further information regarding Op Tramline is available via the National Highways website: Tackling dangerous driving behaviour - National Highways