Dozens of dangerous vehicles discovered on M42 motorway in driver sting
A number of dangerous vehicles were discovered and several drivers arrested after a joint police operation on a busy stretch of motorway near Birmingham. The commercial vehicle crackdown took place on the M42 on Tuesday (July 18) with almost 50 vehicles stopped and 38 offences committed.
Led by the Road Harm Prevention Team, police carried out extra patrols in both marked and unmarked vehicles along the M42 targeting taxi, lorry, van, plant vehicles and agricultural machinery drivers.
Police concentrated on commercial vehicle drivers putting lives at risk committing the ‘fatal four’ offences – drink or drug-driving, speeding, using a mobile phone at the wheel and not wearing a seatbelt. But while doing so found the commercial vehicles had a number of faults breaking the law, from excessive vehicle lengths, insecure loads, overweight vehicles, illegal tints and dangerous defects.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police[2] said: “We stopped 49 vehicles and detected 38 offences as part of the operation which was supported by specialist teams from Central Motorway Policing Group (CMPG) and the Solihull[3] Priorities Team.
“We arrested five people for other offences such as driving whilst disqualified, failure to appear at court, driving under the influence of drugs, possession with intent to supply and theft of a motor vehicle.”
Officers from West Midlands Police’s Road Harm Prevention Team took part in a joint road safety operation on the M42 which saw a number of dangerous vehicles stopped and five arrests made
The spokesperson continued: “This operation is just one of the many proactive measures undertaken by our team to ensure road safety. We are conducting regular operations to promote responsible driving behaviour, reduce road incidents and protect our communities.
“This involves speed enforcement, road-side educational inputs on safe overtaking of cyclists through Operation Close Pass and community engagement initiatives like Speed Watch.”
West Midlands Police worked with partners including the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, local authority waste and licensing teams, the Motor Insurers Bureau, DataTag, The Equipment Register and the West Midlands Fire Service Road Casualty Reduction Team.
References
- ^ Road cordoned off in city centre due to ‘unsafe structure’ (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ West Midlands Police (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Solihull (www.birminghammail.co.uk)