Prohibitions down 4%
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• Prohibitions were down 4% in this month's weather-hit Operation Mermaid roadside blitz, but overloading offences were up on the last check. The Vehicle Inspectorate handed out 334 immediate and 302 delayed prohibitions on 2,801 vehicles checked on 18 November, comparing favourably with September's figures of 365 and 387 on 2,782 vehicles (CM 18-24 Sept). But traffic examiners reported that nearly one in five (19%) of the 606 British lorries weighed this time were overloaded, compared with one in six of the 412 checked at the last count. Despite heavy rain and high winds in parts of the country, police stopped nearly 8,000 vehicles and issued a further 81 immediate prohibitions.
Brakes, steering and tyre defects were again the main causes of prohibitions. And both the VI and West Midlands Police, which jointly co-ordinate Operation Mermaid, expressed particular concern about the condition of light goods vehicles.
Police reported 234 VED offences and 46 lorries operating without 0-licences. Derbyshire police found four vehicles with loose wheelnuts.