MORE than 20 motorists were caught driving illegally on roads in the Midlands in a couple of hours yesterday when officers from Central Motorway Police Group took out their unmarked HGV ‘Supercab’.
The officers were joined by representatives from Highways England for the sting with drivers reported for a number of offences, including not wearing seatbelts, speeding, using mobile phones at the wheel and having unsafe loads.
Highways England funded three unmarked HGVs in March last year with one of them earmarked for the Midlands’ roads.
The ‘Supercab’ project is aimed at tackling dangerous driving on England’s motorways and major A roads.
A single one used by police forces across the country as part of a trial was used to help catch over 4,000 dangerous drivers in its first two years.
The HGV is fitted with wide-angle cameras to capture unsafe driving behaviour. It also has a derestricted speed limiter which means it can travel at speeds up to the national speed limit, and flashing lights have been installed for use by police forces in an emergency.
The cabs allow police officers to film evidence of unsafe driving behaviour by pulling up alongside vehicles. Drivers are then pulled over by police cars following behind.