A driver was stopped speeding at 121mph on the M4 last week as officers covered almost 1,000 miles of the motorway targeting those breaking the law.
The Roads Policing Unit joined up with Highways England to use their HGV super cab, supported by Special Constables from the Specials Roads Safety Unit, in a continued effort to increase road safety on the roads of Wiltshire and were joined by Assistant Chief Constable Deb Smith for one of the days.
During the four-day Operation Tramline, which ran from Monday 22 February, officers used the unmarked HGV, which has been fitted with wide-angle cameras to capture unsafe driving behaviour, and stopped and dealt with drivers for the following offences…
19 driving without a seat belt
8 driving whilst using a mobile phone at the wheel
1 arrest for possession of Class B drugs
6 Traffic Offence Reports for speeding, with 121mph being the fastest
Charmaine Walsh, 30, of Constantine Square, Andover, was arrested and charged for failure to provide a specimen for analysis and possession of Cannabis after she was stopped on Monday 22 February in a blue BMW on the M4 between junctions 16 and 17.
She has been remanded on unconditional bail to appear at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on 4 August.
ACC Smith joined the operation with tackling road safety a Force priority during lockdown.
She said: “It is great that we are able to provide this level of activity across our strategic road network here in Wiltshire.
“Thanks to the support of, and through working in collaboration with Highways England, officers have been able to focus on offences that may not have ordinarily be seen from their position in a car.
“The consequences that can result from any driver of a vehicle being distracted by virtue of being on a mobile phone can be devastating, so when the vehicle in question weighs 44 tonnes then the outcomes can understandably be far more serious.
“Being able to add this element of enforcement and education to the rest of the road safety work that my officers are doing all over the county on a daily basis is excellent and we look forward to carrying this out again when the opportunity arises.”
Sgt Will Ayres of the Roads Policing Unit added: “It was nice to be able to utilise the unmarked HGV to offer a different approach to detect offences that directly relate to road safety issues.
“The results, despite being in a national lockdown where driving is restricted to just essential journeys, show there is still a high number of drivers on the roads in Wiltshire who are putting other drivers in danger by using mobile phones, excessively speeding or drug driving.
“Despite the well-known dangers of not wearing a seat belt, there were still a disproportionate number of drivers who felt they did not need to buckle up on their journey.
“We will continue to educate drivers on the fatal four and why they increase the risk of a collision and that collision resulting in serious or fatal injuries and urge the public to think before getting behind the wheel of a vehicle and ensure they are doing so in a safe manner and in a vehicle that is safe to be on the road.”
Beverley Hannah, Highways England’s South West Safety Co-ordinator, said: “The vast majority of drivers who use our roads every day behave responsibly behind the wheel, but there are some who are putting themselves and others at risk by simply ignoring the law.
“That is why we introduced the three super cabs, and we are working with our police partners across the country to tackle dangerous driving such as illegally using mobile phones, driving at excessive speeds, or not wearing seatbelts. We hope this operation will encourage all motorists to think about their driving.”
Officers will continue to use the HGV super cab to spot and film driver offences in all vehicles on the major routes through Wiltshire.
If you know someone who is driving dangerously, then please call 101 and give as much information as possible, including the driver’s details or description and their car registration.
If you believe that a crime is being committed and somebody is already behind the wheel then please call 999.
