West Yorkshire Police join National Highways’ in unmarked HGV cabs sting that spotted 700 offences on M1

National Highways provided the unmarked HGV cabs to police forces across the country as part of Operation Tramline, which launched in 2015.

From the elevated position in the HGV, officers can spot unsafe driving behaviour – whatever vehicle the motorist may be in.

Almost 700 offences were spotted in just one week (6 to 12 March) by police officers patrolling the M1 in the unmarked HGV cabs.

West Yorkshire Police and other forces, such as South Yorkshire and Derbyshire Police, worked in partnership with National Highways to look-out for unsafe driving, between West Yorkshire and London.

They stopped a total of 663 vehicles and uncovered 691 offences, with the most common offence being drivers not wearing a seatbelt with 239 people caught without their belt on.

Sergeant James Parmar, of West Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit, said: “We stopped 86 drivers on West Yorkshire’s stretch of the M1 during Operation Freeway for over 90 offences. The vast majority of these drivers were driving HGV or LGV vehicles and stopped for fatal five offences.

“The reality is that the dangers of actions such as using a mobile phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt or driving without due care or attention are potentially even more catastrophic when a larger vehicle is involved.

"The action that we have taken, alongside other police forces and National Highways, is all about keeping our roads safe for everyone.”