Police take to the road in HGV to catch law-breaking drivers in West Yorkshire

Police are out on West Yorkshire's roads in a heavy goods vehicle this week as they capture the driving habits of other motorists on camera.
West Yorkshire Police officers will be travelling the county's roads in a heavy goods vehicle so they can film the habits of other drivers.West Yorkshire Police officers will be travelling the county's roads in a heavy goods vehicle so they can film the habits of other drivers.
West Yorkshire Police officers will be travelling the county's roads in a heavy goods vehicle so they can film the habits of other drivers.

The filming will take place over the next five days as part of Operation Tramline, a national initiative between police forces and Highways England.

Sergeant Steve Suggitt, of West Yorkshire Police’s Safer Roads and Neighbourhood Support Team, said: “Being in a HGV means we can not only see the car driver checking the latest message on their mobile, but we are also on the same level as other HGV drivers and can see if their attention is diverted from the road.

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“In their latest THINK! campaign launched last month, the Department for Transport highlighted that if a driver travelling at 30mph glances at their phone for just 2.3 seconds, they miss 100 feet of road – the length of a Boeing 737.

"The consequences of taking your eyes off the road, even for a matter of seconds, can be devastating, even more so if you are at the wheel of a lorry or other large vehicle.”

Police in the county stopped 31 vehicles during a previous Tramline operation in May.

It resulted in officers issuing 10 Fixed Penalty Notices issues and 10 Traffic Offence Reports for offences including driving while using a hand-held mobile phone, not being in proper control of a vehicle, and driving without due care and attention.