Drivers eating at the wheel, swearing at police and typing two-handed at the wheel of an HGV were filmed by officers as part of a collaborative effort to deter and expose dangerous habits on our roads.
As part of Operation Tramline, National Highways provided five police forces with HGV cabs to patrol various sections of network including the A1, M1 and M18 during November and December.
Footage captured by South Yorkshire Police showed one driver typing away on a tablet or laptop computer while driving an HGV. A driver of a Ford Focus was then seen to use both hands to text on their mobile phone.
Several members of the public were spotted wearing no seatbelt with further footage showing one driver swiftly putting on his seatbelt when he realised his error.
Officers from North Yorkshire Police found one driver tucking into his breakfast bowl at the wheel while an HGV driver stuck his middle finger up when it dawned on him he had been spotted wearing no seatbelt.
Operation Tramline was first launched in 2015 with a new approach to tackling dangerous driving and giving police forces a vantage point to watch out for driver behaviour that could lead to or cause a fatality or serious injury on our motorways and A roads.
National Highways provides police forces with HGV cabs for them to patrol roads within their jurisdiction. From an elevated position, an officer in the passenger seat can observe and record anyone flouting the rules of the roads.
Officers in a separate police vehicle are alerted to the offence and the associated vehicle and the driver is then pulled over and any relevant enforcement action is taken. Nearly 50,000 offences have been recorded since its launch and consequences for drivers range from warnings to fixed penalty notices, court summons or arrest.
During Operation Tramline, more than 190 offences were recorded by five forces in North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Northumbria and Durham. Each force used the HGV cabs between Monday 4 November and Friday 13 December.
These included 60 drivers not wearing seatbelts and a further 64 using a mobile phone at the wheel while South Yorkshire Police officers spotted 21 drivers misusing the hard shoulder.
(Picture – National Highways)
