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Mermaid targets suspect vehicles
Page 12
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AS MANY AS half the trucks stopped in the latest roadside checks carried out under Operation Mermaid were breaking the law, according to initial figures.
A total of 44 trucks were stopped in Cleveland — nine were issued with immediate prohibitions; one was seized for running on rebated red diesel; and 15 for a range of other offences.
In Dorset, 42 trucks were stopped — a total of 45% were found to be defective. Three were issued with immediate prohibitions and four with delayed; two drivers were taken off the road for hours offences; two trucks were overweight; one was running on red diesel, and one driver was arrested for allegedly obtaining his load by deception.
The Dorset check included officials from several agencies, including the Department for Work and Pensions, which found four drivers it believes have been claiming unemployment benefit illegally. PC Annie Mitchener of Dorset police,who is the national co-ordinator of Operation Mermaid, says the definitive national results will be published next week.
Although they are likely to be broadly similar to the Cleveland and Dorset results, this does not mean that half the British HGV fleet is running illegally.
This is because the police are increasingly using intelligence in roadside checks, which means they stop those vehicles they already suspect to be breaking the law.
It the nine years since the first of the Operation Mermaid roadside checks the programme has expanded from its beginnings in the West Midlands to include the rest of the UK and now the Continent as well.
European-wide checks were also carried out over the last week in September and results of these are also due to be released by European Traffic Network (TISPOL) next week.