Police in Warwickshire found issues
with 59% of vehicles stopped during
month-long safety campaign

Warwickshire Police has intercepted 121 vehicles during three joint operations targeting unsafe and insecure loads as part of a month-long focus to improve public safety on the county’s roads.

The force teamed up with with Highways England, HMRC, Datatag, NaVCIS and DVSA on the M40, M6, M42 and A5 to encourage Safer Loads across the county.

During the operations, officers from the Commercial Vehicle Unit exercised their professional judgement to look for load issues such as overweight vehicles, bulging curtain side or insecure loads and used high visibility motorcycles to intercept any vehicles.

The vehicles were escorted in to a check site so that officers and staff could examine their load and check tax, insurance, tyres, tachograph and the general condition of the vehicle.

On 3 February, officers brought a total of 35 vehicles from the M40 into the services near Warwick where 15 vehicles received Traffic Offence Reports – 9 of these were for vehicles being overweight and 2 vehicles were seized for no insurance.

One vehicle was found to be using red diesel illegally. HMRC dealt with this by means of a fine exceeding £500. The transport company that owns the vehicle has a fleet of vehicles and was also visited by HMRC as part of their investigation.

On 12 February, officers brought a total of 53 vehicles from the M6 into Corley Services for advice and vehicle safety checks to be made. Of these 18 received Traffic Offence Reports including one vehicle that was found to be 21% overweight.

The DVSA issued seven immediate prohibitions to drivers as a result of defects found on vehicles, and they were prevented from continuing their journey until the defect was corrected.

On 25 February, officers brought a total of 33 vehicles into check sites on the M42 and A5 near Tamworth in a joint operation with Staffordshire Police and Warwickshire Police Rural Crime Team.

Fourteen Traffic Offence Reports were issued during the day including one vehicle that was found to be 25% overweight and the driver was required to reduce the load before being allowed to continue on his journey.

Sergeant Shaun Bridle of the Commercial Vehicle Unit said “The operation is not just about enforcement. Throughout the month advice was given to many drivers around what they need to do to ensure loads are safely secured.

“There is a risk to the public every day due to drivers not securing their loads properly. Loads can shift causing injury to drivers, or fall into the road causing injury to other road users and pedestrians.

"Our aim is to reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on Warwickshire’s roads and we will continue to target vehicles for these offences.

"We are asking all drivers carrying heavy loads to ensure they are secured before setting off and to check they remain secure during the journey at regular intervals.

The fullresults of the three operations are as follows:

• Of the 121 vehicles brought in to the check sites, 59% had issues or offences found
• 9 vehicles received a Traffic Offence Report for insecure loads
• 22 vehicles were given advice for having an insecure load
• 20 vehicles were overweight
• Four vehicles were found to have no insurance or tax and were seized and 1 vehicle had no MOT
• Four vehicles had defective tyres
• Two vehicles had tachograph offences
• One vehicle was found to be using red diesel
• One non UK registered HGV had failed to pay the Levy required to use the UK’s roads and was issued with a £300 fixed penalty notice
• One vehicle had no operators licence and three vehicles failed to display their operators licence
• DVSA issued 11 immediate prohibitions to drivers as a result of defects found on vehicles, and they were prevented from continuing their journey until the defect was corrected.
• The operation was not just limited to commercial vehicles - One driver received a Traffic Offence Report (TOR) for not wearing a seatbelt (potential £100 fine)
• A motorcyclist received a TOR for driving other than in accordance with his licence and had his motorcycle seized
• Another driver was stopped for using a mobile phone whilst driving (a potential 6 points on their licence and a £200 fine.
• One driver received a TOR due to their tinted windows as they did not let through enough light, and the driver had to remove these from his windows before he was allowed to continue.