A lorry with six defective tyres and an excess load of some 15 tonnes has been caught and taken off the roads in a week-long police sting operation on the M6.
More than 400 vehicles were stopped and 387 offences were recorded by police and National Highways with the help of officers patrolling the M6 in unmarked HGV cabs as part of the ‘Operation Vertebrae’ campaign.
Alongside overloaded vehicles, the HGVs also helped capture 98 drivers using their mobile phone illegally at the wheel and 100 people not wearing a seatbelt. Police also spotted a motorbike being ridden at 90-100mph and undertaking traffic. Officers tried to pull the rider over for four junctions before he finally stopped, saying he hadn’t heard them over his music.
In total, 412 vehicles were stopped by police using the unmarked cabs, supplied by National Highways, including 180 HGVs and 122 private vehicles.
Action taken ranged from words of advice or fixed penalty notices to traffic offences being reported and even six arrests.
Five forces took part in the week of action – Lancashire, Merseyside, Cheshire, Warwickshire Police and Central Motorway Police Group, as well as the North West Commercial Vehicle Unit and local road safety partnerships.
Other partners included the DVSA, Health and Safety Executive, HMRC, the Home Office and Immigration Enforcement. The DVSA alone stopped and inspected 249 vehicles and trailers resulting in 282 defects and offences being identified during the week, from 13 to 19 June.
It’s the latest work under the Operation Tramline campaign, which was launched in 2015 by National Highways and sees the unmarked HGV cabs loaned to police forces across the country.
Footage published by National Highways last month for a previous week of action on the M6 showed a clip of a van driver with both hands completely off the wheel at one point, a lorry driver using both his hands to roll a cigarette and also captures the moment a driver who is not wearing his seatbelt is spotted by police.
National Highways head of road safety Jeremy Phillips said: “Our goal, through exercises such as Operation Vertebrae, is to make our roads safer whether that is by encouraging motorists to consider their driving behaviour or ensuring those that put people at risk are fully aware that they can be spotted and will be dealt with by our enforcement partners.
“It is always disappointing when we learn of drivers putting themselves and others at risk through unsafe driving such as using a mobile phone at the wheel. But through this week of action police were able to identify almost 400 offences and halt drivers who could have caused collisions and harm if they hadn’t been pulled over.”
