POLICE Vehicle Unit tackles road safety, which results in 97 drivers being reported for various offences over a four-day period.

Essex Police's Commercial Vehicle Unit recently undertook an operation aimed at improving road safety, resulting in 97 drivers being reported for various offences.

As part of Operation Tramline, Essex Police’s Commercial Vehicle Unit used a supercab to identify unsafe and distracting driver behaviour on the major routes across our county. 

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The supercab was provided by National Highways between July 10 and July 14, as part of a national project which aims to reduce collisions and incidents and improve safety, journey time and reliability on major roads.

During the four-day operation, the supercar was deployed on key routes in Essex, including the M11, M25, A12, and A13.

The heightened position of the supercab enabled officers to observe unsafe and distracting driver behaviours, particularly focusing on larger vehicles where mobile phone use was a concern.

Whenever an officer identified problematic behaviour or cause for concern, the respective vehicle was promptly stopped, and the driver was engaged in a conversation regarding the observed offence.

In total, 114 vehicles were stopped during the operation, resulting in 97 drivers being reported for various violations.

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According to a spokesperson from Essex Police, the prevalence of mobile phone usage and seatbelt offences was disappointingly high.

A spokesman from Essex Police continued: "Disappointingly, mobile phone usage and seatbelt offences remain high and the Commercial Vehicle Unit remind drivers of their responsibilities to look after themselves and uphold the law. 

"We noted 22 mobile phone offences, 30 seatbelt offences, two speeding, five with no insurance, 12 driving without due care, four insecure loads and five stopping on hard shoulders offences during the four-day period.

"Operation Tramline supports Operation Vision Zero, our ambition to have no read deaths in Essex by 2040 or sooner."