Nearly 250 law-breaking lorry drivers stopped

The Leicestershire Police led operation covered large sections of the midlands motorway and trunk road network, including the M1, M6, A14 and A1.

The operation was designed to tackle lorry drivers committing one or more of the ‘Fatal Four’ contributing factors to road collisions - speeding, using mobile phones while driving, not wearing seatbelts and drink-driving.

It ran from Thursday, May 9 to Tuesday, May 14 with drivers being pulled over and given fines as well as advice on the dangers of flouting driving laws.

Derbyshire Constabulary’s Roads Policing Unit and their counterparts from Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, and Warwickshire Police used an unmarked HGV to covertly film drivers committing one or more of the ‘Fatal Four’ offences.

Those seen to be breaking the law were pulled over by officers in marked police vehicles on to the hard shoulder or nearby motorway services to be dealt with.

A total of 243 offences were committed, including 157 drivers not wearing seatbelts, 42 using mobile phones and 1 for speeding, the remainder comprised other offences such as vehicles being over their weight limit and drivers not being in proper control of their vehicles.

Chief Inspector Steve Wilson, head of Roads Policing in Derbyshire, said: “These offences are key contributing factors to fatal and serious collisions. This joint week of action is part of our ongoing strategy to reduce the number of collisions on our roads.

“What we are trying to achieve is to let drivers of heavy goods vehicles know we are out looking for these offences.

“As well as enforcement, my officers engaged with the drivers in the hope of changing their behaviour behind the wheel.”