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Police use HGV to hunt down highway offenders

Ed Hansonand
Tom MacDougall,North East and Cumbria
News imageEd Hanson/BBC Two men in police uniform are standing in front of a parked lorry cabin, which is white and unmarked, and indeed towers above them. The men wear white police caps and vests with walkie-talkies attached to them, alongside various other pieces of equipment. One has a long, ginger beard, whereas the other is clean shaven. They both have their hands behind their backs as they smile beningly. Either side of the lorry are regular, marked police cars.Ed Hanson/BBC
Cumbria Police have been using a lorry to see into the cabins of other HGVs and get a better view of the road

Police have used an undercover HGV to help see into the cabins of other lorries as part of a road safety operation.

Operation Tramline, run by Cumbria Police last week, saw the lorry used in a convoy with unmarked police vehicles as part of a push to reduce collisions.

Eight motorists were caught using their mobile phones whilst driving, with others caught for speeding, not using a seatbelt, driving with an insecure load, and driving a vehicle with serious defects.

A wanted person was also identified and arrested, a vehicle was seen reversing the wrong way up a motorway slip road, and someone was caught driving without a licence, police said.

Insp Holly Lockwood, who was in charge of the operation, said: "If you come to Cumbria and you commit road traffic offences, we are here, we will be watching, and we will seek to prosecute you where necessary."

News imageEd Hanson/BBC Holly Lockwood, a woman wearing similar gear to the previous two police officers - except her hat is taller and has more of a bowler hat appearance. She is standing in a precinct surrounded by red brick walls, next to a marked police car with a high-visibility livery.Ed Hanson/BBC
Insp Holly Lockwood said the operation seeked to prosecute people who "come to Cumbria and commit road traffic offences"

Motorist Iluian was caught playing a film on a tablet in his vehicle whilst driving on the motorway, but said he was only using YouTube to listen to music.

He was fined £100 and advised by police to have the device face down where he cannot see it.

"I would consider it, it's good advice and I will not use any YouTube or anything else in future," he said.

PC James Cornish, who was behind the wheel of the undercover lorry, said: "People are used to checking their phones all the time and they don't make that conscious change in mindset when they start driving which they should do."

News imageEd Hanson/BBC James Cornish, the bearded police officer who has taken off his cap to reveal a shaven head, driving with both hands on the steering wheel of the lorry. The motorway stretches out in front of him, lined by a grassy verge on one side and autumnal trees on the other, with fluffy clouds rolling across the bright blue sky. The motorway itself in this shot looks completely dead.Ed Hanson/BBC
Driver PC James Cornish said people were too used to checking their phones "all the time", even on the road

Another driver, Gordon, was caught driving at 93mph on the motorway - 23mph above the speed limit - and given a speeding ticket.

"The police do a good job, I guess I'm an easy catch today, but I wish they would focus on middle lane hoggers," he said.

"It drives you nuts, the capacity of the UK roads, you could be using that lorry to shove people out the middle lane and educate them how to drive properly on the motorway - granted, I was going too fast."

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