A trucker has been given a ticket as well as some “words of advice” after being caught watching an F1 documentary on his phone while driving on the M5. The lorry driver was spotted by officers from Gloucestershire in an unmarked DAF HGV used as part of Operation Tramline.
The raised vantage point offered by the HGV gives Operation Tramline officers the opportunity to gather evidence of distractions such as using a mobile phone, not wearing a seatbelt or insecure loads. Last month, police officers using an unmarked HGV also caught a trucker watching TV while driving on the M1.
Last Wednesday, a lorry driver (shown in the video below) was stopped after he was spotted watching a Formula One documentary on his smartphone. He was given a ticket for not being in proper control of his lorry as well as “some words of advice about the possible consequences of his actions.”
Police say the use of a mobile phone whilst driving is one of the ‘fatal four’ causes of road deaths and injury in Gloucestershire, along with inappropriate speed, not wearing a seatbelt and drink/drug driving.
Over the week-long operation, a total of 70 drivers were stopped for offences such as being on a mobile phone, not wearing a seatbelt, driving at excessive speed, not being in proper control of their vehicle, having insecure loads or not having insurance/MOT.
Commenting on the results of Operation Tramline, Sergeant Lucy Powell said:
Operation Tramline is a national operation in partnership with Highways England and it allowed us to use an unmarked HGV cab. Drivers using a phone behind the wheel are four times more likely to be involved in a collision, far less likely to notice and react to hazards, more likely to show poor lane discipline and make more variable speed choices. The vantage point that we got from the cab allowed us to detect offences that we might not see from our normal patrol vehicles, particularly with heavy goods vehicles and larger vans. The use of the cab was a really great tool for keeping the roads of Gloucestershire safe.
Before last week’s operation, 65 people had been given tickets for using a mobile phone whilst driving and 12 tickets were issued for not being in proper control of the vehicle. 13 people are also due to be prosecuted for not paying the fine.
Operation Tramline has caught over 4000 distracted drivers so far this year after they were seen to be committing a variety of offences including driving while using mobile phones, not wearing a seatbelt, speeding and drink or drug driving. The Operation has been in place 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 Highways England road network (motorways and major trunk roads).
Photo credit: Gloucestershire Constabulary