Suffolk police slam HGV drivers after recording 350 offences in five days

Police in Suffolk said it was “extremely frustrating” that large numbers of HGV drivers are breaking the law, after officers detected over 350 traffic offences in just five days.

A joint Norfolk and Suffolk roads and armed policing team used a lorry cab to monitor truckers on the A14, A11 and A12 last month.

Between the 25 and 30 April, the police stopped almost 300 vehicles, including 148 HGVs, and detected 356 offences including not wearing a seatbelt; using a mobile phone; insecure loads; construction and use and not being in proper control of a vehicle.

Officers said they would continue attempting to educate HGV drivers about the law, through pre-planned operations and routine patrols.

PC Wayne Sturman of the joint roads and armed policing team, said: “This was another very productive week of action and once again demonstrates the value of such operations, but it remains extremely frustrating to see the amount of drivers who feel they can flout the law.

“The HGV cab provides officers with an ideal vantage point to spot drivers committing offences and provides us with another means to enforce the law with this specific group of road users, who due to the size of the vehicles they are in control of, pose an added risk to other motorists and also themselves if they are committing offences whilst driving.”

Anthony Thorpe, Highways England incident prevention project manager, said: “The HGV cab project, which is funded by Highways England, patrols motorways and major A roads with the aim of improving road safety.

“It provides an ideal viewing platform for police officers to identify dangerous driving behaviour that can be difficult to spot from standard police patrol vehicles – for example texting while driving.”