Cambridgeshire Police hand out £1,000 in fines as part of commercial vehicle clampdown

Cambridgeshire Police handed out £1,000 in fines to drivers as part of an operation to clamp down on commercial vehicles with defects on the roads.

Road Policing Officers from the Commercial Vehicle Unit teamed up with the Driving Standards and Vehicle Agency at Sawtry Weighbridge recently as part of the continued campaign to improve road safety on the county’s roads.

The teams stopped drivers whose vehicles were overweight, had an insecure load, or other defects or crimes to make them unroadworthy.

Throughout the day, 16 vehicles were stopped by the team, and the results included:

14 vehicles weighed, with four receiving a £200 fine each for being overweight and two others given words of advice

One fined £100 and reported for having an insecure load

One driver fined £100 and reported for having no seatbelt

One vehicle prohibited due to it being in a dangerous condition

One driver found to be driving without a licence

Those that were found to be overweight had to remove some of the contents of their vehicles before coming back to collect it with a lighter load later in the day.

Sergeant Chris Payne, from the Commercial Vehicle Unit, said: “This was a successful operation which we conduct frequently to ensure commercial vehicles are safe and adhering to rules on the roads.

“It is important we remove drivers and vehicles that could cause collisions.

“Driving with defects is a serious offence and puts the lives of other road users and pedestrians at serious risk of harm. We will continue this crackdown to improve road safety on the county’s roads.”