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Police use truck to spy on drivers flouting the Law
Page 14
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CM COVER STORY
By Joanna Bourke 1f IL CENTRAL Motorway Police Group (CMPG) has been using an observation truck to crack down on drivers flouting the law by watching DVDs or sorting paperwork while driving.
The group has warned that patrolling will get stricter.
Between 19 October and 2 November, CMPG officers used a Scania R480 tractor unit to look directly into other truck cabs, as they patrolled the West Midlands for Operation Parochial.
An observer in the passenger seat of the police Scania recorded offenders with a digital camera.
A police car was then called upon to stop-check any incidents that looked suspicious. Offences discovered during the operation included: • One driver holding a mobile phone in each hand, texting.
• One driver sorting through paperwork while driving.
• A foreign trucker watching a DVD on his laptop while driving. Several Graduated Fixed Penalties (GFPs) were issued for a range of offences, including overloading and drivers' hours infringements. Two arrests were made for falsifying documents: and one offender was driving a fully-laden four-axle rigid tipper on a car licence. Inspector Simon Westwood of CPMG says: "One important issue is that an unacceptable number of drivers are ignoring the requirement of seat-belts. Drivers currently face a £60 fine if they are caught not wearing a seat-belt."
Operation Parochial took place ahead of CMPG's Operation Mistletoe, which begins on 1 December to crack down on freight crime committed over Chru.
CMPG CV lead Steve Rounds reveals that the unit hopes to use a patrol HGV again.
He adds: "The aim is to send a _ message to drivers to wear seatbelts and not to use phones or laptops so they stop doing it, rather 3 than to use a big enforcement f. hammer to hit them with."