Yoxford – Over 20 arrests made and more than 200 Traffic Offence Reports issued during week of action

Over 20 people were arrested and more than 200 Traffic Offence Reports were issued, during a multi-agency week of action on the A12 at Yoxford.

The operation took place between Monday 20 July and Friday 24 July and also on Monday 27 July, with the aim of disrupting and frustrating the activities of criminals, including organised crime groups, who commit offences across county borders whilst using the road network.

It was also designed to coincide with the increased number of vehicles using the road during this period with people travelling to the Latitude Festival, allowing officers the opportunity to ensure visiting motorists were complying with the law.

This was intelligence-led and involved vehicles identified as being potentially involved in criminality being brought back to a nearby check site, where police and partner agencies conducted checks of the vehicles and occupants.

Officers are also focused on all-round road safety and the fatal four offences of: drink/drug driving, driving whilst using a mobile phone, speeding, and not wearing a seat belt.

Anyone suspected of committing any of these offences was also stopped, along with people driving vehicles which were unroadworthy or had a defect. All of these actions serve towards making the county’s roads safer and reduce the likelihood of someone being killed or seriously injured by an illegally/unsafely driven or defective vehicle.

The operation was led by the Sizewell Abnormal Loads Team and the Commercial Vehicle Unit, assisted by local response team officers.  

They were joined by partners from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) from Monday 20 to Friday 24; and CDER Group debt recovery on Wednesday and Thursday.

23 people were arrested as follows:

205 Traffic Offence Reports were issued, including: 46 for no MOT; 38 for tinted windows; 26 for overweight offences; 19 for using a mobile phone; 18 for not wearing a seatbelt; nine each for illegal number plates; eight for no insurance; seven for dangerous condition; five for insecure loads; four for driver hours offences; and three for careless driving.

In addition to the positive drug wipes and breath tests, a further 78 breath negative breath tests and 53 negative drug wipes were conducted.

DVLA stopped 51 vehicles, with 23 clamped and 13 drivers given warnings, issuing fines totalling £10,040. Two vehicles were seized for no tax and being unable to pay.

CDER Group engaged with 15 vehicles and recovered fines totalling £10,048, with one person owing £4,500.

Sgt Julian Ditcham, of the Sizewell Abnormal Loads Team, said: “The results of the operation speak for themselves. The 17 arrests for drug-driving are particularly shocking – these are people putting the lives of all road users at risk.

“We detected many other dangerous offences - the full range of which can been seen in the results - but the ones that stand out are the drink-driver almost three-times the limit, 46 vehicles without an MOT, 19 people using a mobile phone & 18 people not wearing a seatbelt.

“We cannot stress enough how important it is to drive legally and ensure your vehicle is roadworthy. All too often police officers see first-hand the consequences of people not following the rules of the road. The consequences can be as severe as loss of life, but for many more people it can mean the loss of livelihood if you lose your licence.

“I would like to thank Sizewell C for their assistance with this operation by allowing to us to use one of their locations as our check site.”

Tim Passmore, Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “I’m pleased to see another set of impressive results coming out of a pro-active roads policing operation. 

“The number of drivers on our roads with either vehicles unfit for the road, or unfit to be behind the wheel themselves, absolutely amazes me, it really does need to stop.   

“It’s great to see the Sizewell Abnormal Loads Team involved in this operation. This team is funded by the Sizewell C project, specifically to deal with abnormal loads but they provide addition roads policing support too, which is all goes to help keep our roads safer and free-flowing.”