A HGV driver who rolled a cigarette with no hands on the wheel was just one of the motorists caught by Roads Policing officers during an operation on the M5.
Operation Tramline saw an unmarked HGV lorry, loaned by National Highways, being driven between junctions 8 and 14 of the motorway last month and resulted in 58 drivers being stopped.
The road safety initiative aims to educate motorists and reduce the number of incidents caused by unsafe driver behaviour or distractions such as using a mobile phone, not wearing a seat belt or insecure loads.
The elevated position of the lorry cab helped officers to identify and deal with a number of offences.
Drivers were stopped for offences which included not wearing a seat belt, using a mobile phone behind the wheel, vehicle defects such as having no brakes and insecure loads.
A tow truck was pulled over and officers found several major defects which included no brakes, cuts in tyres, bald tyres, cracked suspension springs and an insecure load.
A prohibition notice was issued to the driver as the vehicle was not roadworthy and could have put other motorists at risk.
Officers also pulled over two motorists as they were towing vehicles while in the third lane of the motorway which is not permitted. Guidelines on towing a trailer on a three-lane motorway can be found in rule 265 of the Highway Code.
Officers who identified a driver committing an offence recorded video footage from the unmarked lorry cab before notifying officers in an accompanying car.
These officers then intercepted the offending vehicle, pulling it over and dealing with the driver.
The offences were dealt with by way of Traffic Offence Reports (TORs) and summons. These can potentially result in a fine of £100 for failing to wear a seat belt, £200 and six penalty points for using a handheld mobile device and a £300 fine for driving a vehicle in contravention of a prohibition.
Penalties for driving whilst disqualified can lead to a fine of up to £5,000 and up to six months’ imprisonment.
Sergeant Matt Firth from the Roads Policing Unit said: “Reducing the numbers of people killed or seriously injured on our roads continues to be a priority for Gloucestershire Constabulary.
“We will continue to run these operations to detect and deter those who choose to drive in this manner remembering that any of us or our loved ones could be impacted by such behaviours whilst using the county’s roads.”
National Highways has three unmarked HGV cabs which it loans out to police forces across the country as part of Operation Tramline.
The operation was introduced to help decrease the number of people killed or seriously injured on the National Highways road network (motorways and major trunk roads).
National Highways Engineering Team Manager for Road Safety, Jack Mason, said: “Figures show 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 crash if using a phone at the wheel. So it is always disappointing when we see people who are prepared to put themselves and others at risk in this way.
“This year marks the 10th anniversary of Operation Tramline and our goal has always been to remind motorists to think carefully about their driving behaviours and to make our roads safer.
“These results show just how valuable our HGV cabs continue to be in helping to spot unsafe driving behaviours and we will continue working with our police partners to make our roads as safe as we can.”
