Officers take part in operation to target unsafe driving on M1

Eight police forces are joining the operation, which starts today (Monday 6 March) and will see patrols in unmarked HGV cabs on the M1 between London and Leeds.

From the elevated position in the HGV cab, officers can spot unsafe driving behaviour – whatever vehicle the motorist may be in.

The aim is to reduce the number of incidents on the motorway and to encourage safer driving.

National Highways officially launched the latest campaign last Friday (3 March) and released footage of a number of shocking incidents captured by police officers in Warwickshire carrying out patrols in the unmarked cabs.

You can read more details on these examples and find out about the operation here: Driver caught steering huge car transporter with just his elbow by police in unmarked National Highways HGV - National Highways.

Information released by National Highways reports that nationally more than 33,254 offences have been recorded since the ‘Operation Tramline’ unmarked HGV cabs safety initiative was launched in 2015, with some 30,380 vehicles stopped by police.

The most common offences are not wearing a seatbelt (9,962) and using a mobile phone (8,368) followed by 2,257 who were not in proper control of their vehicle.

Consequences for drivers range from warnings to fixed penalty notices, court summons or arrest.

In Derbyshire, our operation is being led by PC Dave Shaw of our Roads Policing Unit. He said: “We are pleased to be supporting this operation alongside National Highways and other police forces to help reduce the danger caused by unsafe and distracted driving on the M1.

“By raising awareness of the initiative and taking positive action against those commit offences we hope to reduce the number of incidents and remind people to think carefully about their driving behaviour.”

National Highways Head of Road Safety, Jeremy Phillips, said: “We are committed to reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured while travelling on our roads by 50% by 2025 and we have a long-term ambition for zero harm.  To achieve that we need to tackle the unsafe driving behaviour that we sadly still encounter.

“Hundreds of thousands of drivers use our roads every day and the vast majority are sensible behind the wheel, but some are putting themselves and others at risk.  Through this week of action, we want to encourage motorists to think about their driving and to adopt safer behaviours.

“But those who continue to pose a risk should be aware that we are working with our police partners to make sure they are spotted and prevented from causing serious harm to themselves or others.”

You can follow the campaign by searching #OperationFreeway on social media.