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79% of commercial vehicles found with faults during safety spot checks
03/08/2022
358 offences were identified during a week of action
A week of action to improve the safety of commercial vehicles using the regions roads resulted in 120 vehicles being found with at least one fault. That’s 79% of the 151 vehicles that were stopped and checked.
In total 358 offences were identified.
The checks were undertaken by officers from Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary Joint Operations Unit between July 18 and 22.
23 vehicles were found to be unsafe due to their load being poorly secured. Another 48 were found with mechanical faults such as problems with tyres, brakes and lights.
17 vehicles were deemed unsafe due to insufficient views in their mirrors.
Other offences included heavy goods vehicles travelling where prohibited, or using red diesel as road fuel.
Four lorry drivers and one coach driver were found to have manipulated their tachograph records in order to drive beyond the prescribed limits.
The week of action was undertaken on the A34 between Winchester and Bicester.
Sergeant Paul Diamond, from the Commercial Vehicle Unit, said: “Examining commercial vehicles is business as usual for roads policing but weeks of co-ordinated action give us an opportunity to target specific offenders, obtain data on wider patterns of risk and to police whole roads instead of just the junctions on our area.
“During this operation we were able to target vehicles which we believed were likely to be driven unlawfully. Once stopped we examined the vehicles and counted all the infringements, which are reflected in the statistics. We then spoke with each of the drivers about the risks they were posing to themselves and other road users by not maintaining, or driving, their vehicles in a lawful way.
“We issued a number of tickets and the vehicles were prohibited until the issues were corrected.
“These types of vehicles are driven regularly and often for long periods and across long distances; it is important they are maintained and driven safely to protect all those using the roads.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam