Nearly 200 motorists caught in police crackdown on unsafe drivers

One motorist spotted committing an "indecent act" while driving

A week-long crackdown on unsafe drivers across the area caught nearly 200 motorists, including one BMW driver who was caught committing an “indecent act” while driving on the M40.

The initiative – called Operation Tramline, is the eighth crackdown of its kind and was conducted on some of the major local roads between June 6 and 10.

In total 187 people were found committing offences on roads including the A34, M4 and M3 in a Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary-wide operation.

The majority – 147, were motorists using mobile phones whilst driving, twenty of which were heavy goods vehicle drivers.

Other offences included not wearing a seatbelt, not having valid tax, MOT or insurance, and not being in control because of reading a novel.

Sgt Paul Diamond from the Roads Policing Commercial Vehicle Unit said: “We run these operations regularly because we see collisions every day of the week caused by drivers not concentrating on the road ahead.

“Most of the offenders are not horrible criminals, they are often kind and decent people but they just don’t realise the consequences of their actions not just to the victims but on their own lives and to the security of their jobs and family.

“We want to keep these people out of court just as much as we want to prevent casualties.

“It’s a life changing event for everyone involved in a fatal crash and if the driver was accessing a phone at the time then they are very likely to go to prison, even if they have never been in trouble previously.

“People’s lives changes forever on a split second decision and that text just isn’t worth the risk.”

The standard penalty for using a mobile phone whilst driving is a £100 fine and three penalty points on your licence.