A lorry driver has been fined after police caught him driving on the M1 with a mobile phone positioned directly in his line of sight, obscuring his view of the road. The driver was among 16 HGV motorists caught during a week-long Nottinghamshire Police road safety operation targeting dangerous driving offences.
Police Used Unmarked HGV Cab
Officers carried out Operation Tramline patrols between Monday 13 July and Friday 17 July, using an unmarked National Highways HGV cab to gain an elevated view into passing vehicles. The higher vantage point allowed officers to identify offences that would otherwise have been difficult to detect. During the operation, police stopped more than 90 motorists, uncovering a range of offences including mobile phone use, failing to wear seatbelts and other dangerous driving behaviours.
38 Drivers Caught Using Phones
A total of 38 motorists were caught using a mobile phone while driving. Each received a £200 fixed penalty and six penalty points on their driving licence. Police said one HGV driver had positioned his phone in the middle of his eyeline, significantly obstructing his view of the road ahead.
“A Completely Obscured View”
Sergeant Jim Carrington, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit, said:
“Mobile phone use at the wheel is a significant cause of serious and fatal collisions on our roads, especially when committed by HGV drivers.
“Because of the sheer size and weight of their vehicles, these people have a particular responsibility to remain focused on the road at all times.
“In the case of the gentleman with the phone in the middle of his eyeline, he would have had a completely obscured view of vehicles at certain distances, particularly motorcyclists.”
“Counting the Cost”
Sgt Carrington said those caught using their phones were now facing the consequences of putting other road users at risk.
“The drivers using mobile phones at the wheel are now each counting the cost of putting other road users in danger for the sake of sending or receiving a message.
“I have had the misfortune to attend several fatal collisions caused by drivers who were on their phones at the time.
“These tragedies are impossible for emergency workers like me to forget, but they each remind us of the importance of catching and dealing with drivers taking similar risks on the roads.”
Operation Tramline
Operation Tramline is a nationwide road safety initiative delivered in partnership with National Highways, using an unmarked HGV cab to help officers detect offences from an elevated position. Nottinghamshire Police said the operation will continue to target dangerous driving behaviours as part of ongoing efforts to improve road safety and reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the county’s roads.
Originally published by UKNIP.
