Dangerous load and phone users identified in M1 HGV operation

A dangerously overloaded van travelling at nearly twice its legal weight limit was among dozens of vehicles pulled over with the help of a specially adapted HGV cab.

Officers from Nottinghamshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit carried out a five-day operation along the M1 from 18 May and stopped 81 vehicles in total.

Drivers were dealt with for a wide range of offences, including 23 mobile phone offences, 19 seatbelt offences, and 16 driving without due care offences.

Others were dealt with for licence offences, speeding, driving with no insurance, and not being in proper control of a vehicle.

Two people were also arrested – one for drug driving and the other for immigration offences.

The heavily laden van – pulled over due to the extreme compression of its suspension – was later weighed in at six tonnes, nearly twice its three-and-a-half-tonne limit.

 A view from above

Operation Tramline is a recurring law enforcement initiative that uses an HGV cab, owned and operated by National Highways, to spot and film offences from an elevated vantage point.

PC Mike Grant, of the Roads Policing Team, said:

"Ultimately, this operation is about preventing serious collisions in which people are killed or seriously injured.

"As police officers, we see all too often the catastrophic consequences of people using mobile phones at the wheel, not wearing seatbelts, or driving defective or dangerous vehicles.

"When we pull people over for these offences, it is those tragic outcomes we are seeking to prevent.

"In the case of the overweight vehicle we pulled over during this operation, the driver can consider himself fortunate that the suspension hadn’t collapsed and caused a very serious collision."

Marie Biddulph, Midlands Regional Safety Programme Manager at National Highways, said:

“The vast majority of people who use our roads do so safely and legally, but it's always disappointing to see that some drivers continue to put themselves and others at risk.

"Using a mobile phone behind the wheel, not wearing a seatbelt or overloading a vehicle is irresponsible, and through working with police we want people to think about their driving behaviours and make sure they are travelling safely.

"Our unmarked HGVs allow officers to easily spot unsafe driving on our roads, and those who continue to flout the law should be aware they will face the consequences."