Day of action on A14 aims to improve vehicle safety standards on county’s roads

More than 30 vehicles were stopped and inspected as part of an on-going partnership project aimed at improving the safety standard of vehicles using the county’s major road network.

Led by Northamptonshire Police’s Forensic Collision Investigation Unit, the one-day operation was supported by the Force’s Roads Policing, Safer Roads, Neighbourhood Policing, Response and Special Constabulary teams.

They were also joined by colleagues from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) on Friday, November 17, as part of the bi-monthly operation targeting commercial vehicles being driven illegally or irresponsibly through the county.

Throughout the day, 31 goods vehicles were intercepted by officers in marked police cars and on police motorcycles on both carriageways of the A14, before being escorted to the check site just off junction 3 at the Rothwell Truck Stop.

Once at the check site, vehicles were checked for offences, and of those stopped, 20 vehicles – about two thirds - were found to be fully compliant with relevant licences and considered to be in a roadworthy condition.

However, the rest were found to be non-compliant with 11 vehicles identified as having at least one mechanical defect or committing a traffic offence. This included five vehicles that were carrying loads classed as dangerous goods.

The breach of carriage of dangerous good regulations included missing personal protection equipment such as a fire extinguisher, no transportation paperwork and failing to carry the relevant ADR licence. Prohibition notices were issued, and the driver’s companies informed.

While other drivers were dealt with on the day by way of prohibition notices and fixed penalty notices for various offences including:

• No MOT
• Overweight loads
• Defective tyre
• Defective light
• No tachograph

Northamptonshire Police forensic collision investigator and specialist vehicle examiner, Police Sergeant Chris Gray, said: “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility, and it is always disappointing that some of the vehicles stopped were not in a roadworthy condition.

“Improving safety on our roads is a Force priority and with the support from our partners, we will continue to hold these days of action to ensure people using our roads are doing so both legally and responsibly.”

In 2022, after being involved in a road collision in Northamptonshire, tragically 40 people never returned home safely to their loved ones. Reducing the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on our county’s roads remains a Force priority.