Student police officers take part in day of action to improve road safety

More than 30 motoring offences were detected by Northamptonshire Police in just one day following the latest day of action held in the centre of Northampton.

Last Thursday (July 20), the Force’s Safer Roads Team were joined by student police officers in Bridge Street as part of Operation Journey, which aims to reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on our roads.

During the checks, three people were arrested on suspicion of knowingly entering the UK without leave. Two men aged 31 and 25 were handed over to the immigration services, while a 19-year-old man was released with no further action.

Twelve drivers had vehicles seized after being found to be driving without valid insurance or driving without a licence, while a further four were being driven without road tax.

Eleven drivers were issued with fixed penalty notices for a range of driving offences, including one for using a mobile phone whilst behind the wheel, two for a driver not wearing a seat belt and one for not ensuring a child under the age of 14 was properly secured.

Three other drivers received fixed penalty notices for tyre defects, one vehicle was identified to have an insecure load and three were found to have been driven without a valid MOT.

PC Dave Lee of the Safer Roads Team said: “Everyone needs to play their part to help save lives and one of the most basic, but essential, ways to do this is to ensure both you and your vehicle are fit for the road.

“Some of these issues may seem trivial to some, however it only takes one poorly maintained vehicle or a momentary lapse of concentration for a driver to be involved in a collision, which can result in potentially devastating consequences.

“Our priority remains to ensure that everyone arrives home safely and carrying out road checks likes this enables us to work towards this by improving the standards of driving and removing unsafe vehicles from the road immediately.”

Tragically in 2022, after being involved in a road collision in Northamptonshire, 36 people never returned home safely to their loved ones, and 347 required urgent medical assistance for serious and life-changing injuries.