Three in four vans and lorries stopped in police motorway op had …
One of the trucks stopped by Thames Valley Police during the operation on the M4 Picture: TVP (Image: Thames Valley Police)
An astonishing three-quarters of lorries, trucks and vans stopped during a motorway crackdown on commercial vehicles had ‘things wrong’, police said.
Officers from Thames Valley Police’s roads unit stopped 37 vehicles on the M4 during the operation. The old fashioned 'copper's nose' sniffed out problems with 28 of the vans and trucks.
Traffic cops said two vehicles were carrying or towing loads that were too heavy. One of the two was almost a metric tonne overweight.
Three people were arrested; two for immigration offences.
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In total, 16 vehicles were stopped for having an unsecured load, with items not strapped down or covered.
Four vehicles were stopped for having worn tyres. There were two bald tyres on an HGV, police said.
One vehicle was seized as it was untaxed, while a van driver was dealt with for using their phone behind the wheel.
There was one positive from the operation at the Reading services, however. Writing on social media, the officers said: “Pleased to say that there were no arrests for drink or drug driving.”
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