Crime | Posted on February 5th, 2025 | return to news
Commercial vehicles found to be unsafe in Ashley Heath crackdown
Road policing officers together with the Vehicle Standards Agency conducted a campaign at the end of January.
Road policing officers conducted a two-day campaign in January focusing on commercial vehicle safety and found a number of vehicles had not been loaded securely.
Together with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), officers engaged with commercial vehicle drivers to ensure that their vehicles were loaded correctly and did not pose a risk to other road users.
If a larger vehicle is carrying a load that is not secured or maintained correctly, this can lead to items falling onto roads causing a hazard that could result in a serious or fatal road traffic collision.
In 2024, Dorset Police received over 1,000 emergency calls relating to items being discarded from moving vehicles onto major roads throughout the county. Each call results in an officer needing to attend to make sure the road is safe and prevent the risk of a collision occurring.
On Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 January officers carried out an operation near to the Ashley Heath interchange to crackdown on unsafely loaded vehicles.
During the two days, 32 drivers were issued with a traffic offence report after their vehicle was found to have not been loaded securely. Five of these offences were issued under Section 40a of the Road Traffic Act 1988 as there was an imminent serious danger to other road users.
A total of 13 vehicles were given a prohibition notice by either the police or the DVSA that prevented them from carrying on their journeys until action was taken due to being dangerously unsafe. One vehicle was prohibited for breaching the drivers’ hours limits and was prevented from being driven for 25 hours.
While officers were checking the vehicles for insecure loads, other driving offences were detected; Four vehicles were found to be overweight; four motorists had committed drivers’ hours offences; and two had defective tyres.
In addition to this, other motoring offences were dealt with including driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence or insurance and a driver was arrested on suspicion of driving while over the specified drug drive limit.
Police Constable Chris Brolan, of the Roads Policing Team, said: “Nationally, we have sadly seen the devastating consequences that can come after items had fallen from commercial vehicles and seriously harmed innocent road users.
“This has driven our focus and is why we have been out and about educating commercial vehicle drivers on how to keep their vehicles safe and protect the public.
“The results from the two days of targeted activity, which form part of a national campaign focusing on heavy goods vehicles, demonstrate our commitment to ensuring the roads in Dorset are safe for everyone.
“By joining up with the DVSA, we have been able to remove dangerous vehicles from the road and prevent any tragic consequences.
“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility – if you have concerns about a road user, please report them to us by visiting www.dorset.police.uk or by calling 101.”
Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset David Sidwick said: “To increase road safety we must focus not only on enforcement, but also education. This joint operation demonstrates the importance of taking action when offences are identified, while reminding drivers of their obligation to check loads are securely stored, vehicles do not exceed the legal weight limit and all components such as tyres and light bulbs are in good order.
“I will continue to support our dedicated officers and volunteers who work relentlessly to reduce the number of people killed and injured on Dorset’s roads.”
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