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Gloucestershire Business News

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If you think the elevated sanctuary of a large van or lorry will stop traffic cops from keeping an eye on your driving behaviour, be warned: officers in Gloucestershire are currently deploying an unmarked HGV lorry – and it's yielding results worthy of prime popcorn.

So far in Operation Tramline, a texting van driver who swore at officers and an HGV driver eating a jar of food have been picked out by the force as key examples for how to be prosecuted for offences on the M5, with the work all being made possible thanks to the force's use of an unmarked lorry loaned by officers' colleagues at National Highways.

In a series of runs earlier this month, the stealth rig, driven between junctions 8 and 14, netted 20 drivers falling foul of the law.

A force spokesperson said: "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 seatbelt or insecure loads. The elevated position of the lorry cab helped officers to identify and deal with a number of offences."

Officers who identify a driver committing an offence record video footage from the unmarked lorry cab before notifying colleagues in an accompanying car. These then intercept the offending vehicle, pulling it over and dealing with the driver.

As well as having intercept cars, officers on motorbikes also patrol the stretch of road looking for offences which may have been missed due to the height of the police's lorry cab.

Sgt Matt Firth, from the Roads Policing Unit, said: "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 seatbelt, £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.

He added: "The use of the HGV from National Highways enables our Roads Policing officers to detect some offences that would otherwise be a challenge to identify. Reducing the numbers of those killed or seriously injured on our roads is a priority for Gloucestershire Constabulary, and making the roads safer for all is what our communities want our team to be leading on.

Sgt Firth said: "We will continue to deal with offences positively, remembering that any of us or our loved ones could be impacted by such behaviours while using the roads."

This video reveals results from a similar operation by police in Warwickshire. Elsewhere in the UK, a police operation on the M6 netted 230 offences in one week, while since Operation Tramline began nine years ago as a National Highways initiative, it is now thought to have recorded more than 46,150 offences by HGV drivers.

National Highways currently runs three unmarked HGV cabs which it loans to police forces across the country as part of Operation Tramline. The operation was introduced to crack down on offenders who continue to break the law and to help decrease the number of people killed or seriously injured on the National Highways road network of motorways and major trunk roads.

Beverley Hannah, National Highways Assistant Regional Safety Programme Manager, said: "Working closely with our police partners, National Highways is striving to stamp out inappropriate driving behaviours on our roads. While we always hope that when our HGVs go out no instances of unsafe driving will be seen, thanks to the elevated position in the cabs the officers have a clear view into all vehicles so those who do put themselves and others at risk can be spotted and stopped."

She added: "We hope that knowing our HGVs are on the road will persuade motorists to consider their driving behaviour carefully, making the roads safer for everyone."

● To watch footage of Gloucestershire Constabulary's latest work on this crackdown, click here .

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