Well this is awkward…
This lorry driver was snapped on his phone while driving after police officers increasingly opt for undercover means of sorts in a National Highways HGV in an effort to crack down on illegal activities on the road.
The footage was taken by Avon and Somerset Police and is one of 21,000 offences recorded by officers using this method, named Operation Tramline, over the past few years..
While motorcyclists are unlikely to be sending a WhatsApp while riding - and if you do then please stop! - but the news may come as more of a relief for bikers who have fallen foul of drivers more interested in their phone than the road ahead, not least amid a close watch on SMIDSY figures in the wake of lockdown coming to an end.
In all, nearly 20,000 vehicles have been stopped over the last six years of Operation Tramline, including - among the more bizarre moments - a driver steering a lorry with his knees while eating his lunch and using a phone, one eating a lasagne with a knife and fork while driving on the motorway and an HGV driver boiling a kettle... on the dashboard.
“The HGV cabs are an important part of our commitment to tackling unsafe driving and those who take unnecessary risks with their own safety and that of others on the road,” Nicholas Reed, National Highways’ Road Safety Lead for the South East, said.
“The number of people found using their mobile phone while driving is quite alarming. You are four times more likely to be in a crash if you use your phone and, if caught, face a £200 fine and six points on your licence.
“Through this fortnight of action on the M5 and M4 we want to make all of our roads safer by raising awareness and encouraging motorists to consider their driving behaviour.”
