Road users are safer after Sussex Police and enforcement officers from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) carried out proactive safety checks on drivers and vehicles.
On Monday 23 January, officers from the Roads Policing Unit inspected heavy and light goods vehicles at a site in Tangmere to ensure that vehicles were roadworthy, loads were safely secured and drivers were in a safe condition to drive.
DVSA deployed their new Mobile Inspection Unit (MIU) which enables DVSA examiners to carry out stop-checks throughout the country to make sure drivers are complying with the law.
DVSA’s Mobile Inspection Unit (MIU) is a portable vehicle check site which can be deployed on any accessible flat piece of land of appropriate size has a range of vehicle inspection capabilities including a roller brake tester, under vehicle inspection cameras, shaker plates and the potential to check tachograph calibration.
During the operation DVSA traffic and vehicle examiners and officers from the Sussex Police Commercial Vehicle Unit found a total of 36 defects of the 18 vehicles checked.
The most serious issues discovered were for tyre safety, with tyres being required to be replaced by the vehicle operator before they could continue on their journey.
Examiners also uncovered issues with load security and indicators – all of which could have been discovered during a walkaround check before the driver began their journey.
There was also a serious brake defect, two overloaded vehicles and a failure to use a tachograph or drivers card were also recorded during the day.
Officers from the Commercial Vehicle Unit issued three fixed penalty notices to drivers during the checks.
This included to one vehicle for being overweight and needing to have a tyre replaced, a 32-ton tipper was given a prohibition notice to prevent its onward journey to fix a tyre and the serious brake defect, and it was also referred to the DVLA for vehicle tax owed, and a scaffold vehicle was given a fixed penalty notice for being overweight.
Officers also gave advice to drivers for weight of their vehicle and for load security.
Sussex Police Chief Constable Jo Shiner said: “We see at first-hand the devastating consequences that insecure loads and poor vehicle conditions can lead to.
“Taking part in operations and education campaigns such as these form an essential part of our policing and we will continue to work with partner agencies including the DVSA to ensure drivers are using the roads safely.”
DVSA’s Director of Enforcement Marian Kitson said: “The Mobile Inspection Unit provides us with new opportunities to be even more agile and focused in our targeting of dangerous drivers and vehicles.
“Utilising our tools and expertise in partnership working with Sussex police enables us to target drivers and vehicles endangering the local community.
“We want to use this as an opportunity to remind road users of their responsibilities to keeping Sussex road users safe.
Roads Minister Richard Holden said: “Operators and drivers with unroadworthy vehicles are a menace to the public.
“DVSA’s new Mobile Inspection Unit will be vital to help clamp down on dangerous vehicle operators who seek to avoid their responsibilities.
“Working in partnership will achieve positive outcomes and help keep our roads safe for all.”
