Purge goes on, police chief promises
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THERE WILL be no let up in Cambridgeshire Police's campaign against illegal operators, hauliers were warned last week.
Speaking against a background of national police budget cuts, chief constable Ian Kane said: "I have not cut hack yet. 1 W i 11 not be reducing nay commitment to traffic controls."
Speaking at a haulage conference in Churchill College, Cambridge, he said: "There is an irresponsible and dangerous minority of operators who should be identified and weeded Out. Some are prepared to flout the law and put themselves and the public in danger. The vast majority of operators take their responsibilities very seriously."
His officers started checkweighing hauliers themselves for the first time in May, after special training. He alleged that some drivers are paid extra to overload their vehicles and cut down on the number of journeys needed to do specific jobs.
".The most common complaint we have is of hgv speeding, normally in built up areas but also on dual carriageways,Checks are made in the county using unmarked cars, he said.
About 150 people were taken to court by his force for tachograph offences last year. "I dare say we are doing no more than creaming off, the top. You and 1 know there have been accidents with exhausted drivers."
Abnormal roads. take up a disproportionate amount of police time, Last year, of 9,000 loads notified, 1,100 were escorted. This is a "very difficult area", he said, but the police would be negligent if it ignored special loads.
He urged tanker hauliers to tighten up their operation. Several accidents involving dangerous loads occured in Cambridgeshire last year, causing great disruption.
Some drivers had no idea of what they were carrying.
Mr Kane said his county was a major junction for lorries. "The vast majority passes through perfectly properly and correctly. But on one -check last month, where selected lorries were stopped, 77 per cent had defects.