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HGV drivers face £7,300 fine for breaching UK road safety rules as police crack down on offenders. Suffolk Police launched a safety operation targeting HGVs and commercial drivers in September. The operation was led by the Commercial Vehicle Unit (CVU), with assistance from the Roads & Armed Policing Team (RAPT) and Special Constabulary. Partner agencies involved were Felixstowe Port Police, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Border Force, and the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). One vehicle was found being used to deliver food without the correct insurance and a defective tyre. Other offences detected were vehicles in an unroadworthy condition, defective lights, tinted windows and not wearing seat belts. READ MORE £65,000 warning for thousands of women with babies under age five A total of 26 HGVs were stopped, with officers from Border Force and Special Constabulary searching trailers. Drivers from 10 different countries were engaged with and given information regarding facilitation offences. 13 HGVs were clear of any offences and eight drivers were given advice regarding drivers’ hours. Five foreign HGVs incurred significant fines amounting to £7,300 in total – all were for driver hours offences. One of the drivers was found to have driven for 22 hours with just one hour’s rest and another had been working for 63 hours in total, driving for 33 hours and covering 2,000 miles before taking a required rest period. PC Terry Harvey, of the Commercial Vehicle Unit, said: “Our remit involves conducting checks on all vehicles used for business purposes, which as demonstrated by this operation ranges from fast food deliveries to HGVs. “This was a really productive weekend of multi-agency co-operation, covering all bases of ensuring vehicles are roadworthy and ensured, and that drivers are working legally and driving legally. “The two highlighted driver hours offences were particularly concerning – anyone not taking the required rest breaks when driving a vehicle of that size is very clearly putting the lives of other road users at risk. “I would like to thank all our colleagues and partner agencies involved for their assistance in facilitating this operation, more of which will take place over the coming months.” Tim Passmore, Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “Since its creation from the council tax precept investment, the Commercial Vehicle Unit has had some excellent outcomes and the results from these two recent days of action show just how valuable the team is. “The way we live our lives has changed drastically over the past years and it is important that policing evolves too. I fully support the focus on fast food delivery drivers as this is an area for concern in some communities, but not something I could have predicted would be so prolific when I first became PCC back in 2012. "I find it absolutely unbelievable that drivers, who rely on their driving licence for their livelihood, would take such a cavalier attitude to their safety and the safety of other road users. I hope the publicity around this recent campaign will make irresponsible drivers think twice before getting behind the wheel.”
