Joint day of action takes 19 vehicles off the road
Nearly 66 per cent of vehicles stopped during a multi-agency road safety operation were taken off the road due to having dangerous defects.
Operation Trader – a partnership between Avon and Somerset Police, local authority licencing teams, Trading Standards, the DVSA, Environment Agency, HMRC and DWP – involves days of action where commercial and light goods vehicles are stopped to ensure they are safe and fit for purpose. There are 10 events planned for next year across the Avon and Somerset Police area.
The latest one was held on Thursday 8 June in Weston-super-Mare in which 29 vehicles were stopped – of these 19 were taken off the road after being assessed and found to have multiple defects.
Issues and offences identified during the operation included:
- 34 offences
- 12 Traffic Offence Reports issued.
- Two drivers reported for summons.
- Two vehicles in a dangerous condition
- Seven insecure loads
- Five defective tyres
- Four lighting offences
- One driving licence offence.
- 7 Window Tint offences
DVSA issued 27 immediate prohibitions on a total of 19 vehicles which were found to have dangerous defects which threaten the safety of other road users.
Sgt Steve Whatley said: “This was another hugely successful day of partnership action, but it was disappointing to find so many vehicles which needed to be taken off the road immediately due to the condition they were in.
“Road safety is something every motorist needs to be conscious of before they get behind the wheel. It only takes one problem or one lapse of concentration to cause a tragedy.
“When vehicles are not maintained or are neglected by their owners, they become a serious risk to the public.
“The aim of this operation is to identify those vehicles which pose a risk, engage with the owners or companies, and carry out balanced and proportionate enforcement.”