Motorists stopped as part of safety scheme

As part of Operation Safedrive, police officers teamed up with partnership agencies to crack down on offences such as not wearing a seatbelt, using a mobile phone at the wheel and driving with defective tyres.

Matlock Safer Neighbourhood Team worked alongside the Casualty Reduction and Enforcement Support Team (CREST) and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) on Thursday, November 14.

They stopped 45 drivers during the operation on roads in Darley Dale and Wirksworth including 25 people for not wearing a seat belt and seven people for using a phone at the wheel.

Three motorists were stopped for defects on their vehicles that required attention and ten drivers were cautioned for traffic offences.

Sergeant Adam Bryan, who is in charge of Safer Neighbourhood policing for the area, said: “The point of Operation Safedrive is to make our roads as safe as we can for drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

“Although the majority of road users went on without a problem it was really concerning to see that some people were putting other people’s lives at risk by driving without a seat belt and using a mobile phone behind the wheel.

“It is vital to take road safety and traffic issues seriously and we hope that this operation reminds motorists about the importance of safe and considerate driving.”

Ashbourne Safer Neighbourhood Team held their own Operation Safedrive session on Monday, as part of a week–long drive for ‘In Focus Burglary’.

Operation Safedrive is an on–going Derbyshire police campaign to educate motorists about responsible driving and make roads across the county safer.

For further information on the initiative, call 101 the non-emergency number for Derbyshire police.

Alternatively, visit the Derbyshire police website, www.derbyshire.police.uk, for information and advice on how to stay safe.