The vital day-to-day role of Nottinghamshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit in keeping people safe and tackling criminality has been highlighted.
The unit has been out on proactive patrols in the Newark area as part of ongoing work to reduce the number of serious and fatal collisions across the force area.
A particular focus for the team is on stopping drivers who display the ‘fatal four’ behaviours, using a mixture of engagement, education, and enforcement to keep our roads safe and change drivers’ behaviours and attitudes.
Speeding, drink-driving, using a mobile phone while driving and not wearing a seatbelt are dubbed the ‘fatal four’ because they are the most common reasons for deaths and serious injuries on the road.
Roads policing officers PCs Haddon Smith and Dean Melbourne were out on proactive patrols on Friday, June 14, in support of the UK-wide Project EDWARD (Every Day Without A Road Death) road safety campaign, focused on preventing risks that could lead to crashes.
PC Smith said: “As a team we’d much rather spend our time educating drivers to help change their behaviour in operations like these, than being called to a serious collision when it is sadly too late.
“Our main goal is to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads, but our work is also very much about using our specialist expertise to prevent and disrupt criminality on our road network, as well as promoting road safety at all times.”
During their patrol the officers were quickly on the trail of a suspected cloned vehicle which was stopped in Bowbridge Road.
Using their specialist skills and knowledge to check over the Land Rover Discovery, they confirmed it was a stolen vehicle taken from the London area in 2018. The Land Rover was seized and recovered while inquiries continue.
PC Smith also responded to a report of lorry straps which had spilled out onto the A46 dual carriageway, causing a dangerous hazard to motorists — so time was of the essence.
During their time in the area, the pair also stopped drivers suspected to not be wearing seatbelts. While no offences were detected, the drivers received words of advice.
Further checks were carried out when they stopped a van in Earp Avenue and the driver was educated on ensuring his tyres are safe and legal.
Other important sides of the Roads Policing Unit’s work were displayed during the afternoon, as they demonstrated a collaborative tactical approach around planned vehicle stops.
PC Melbourne added: “The careless and dangerous actions of just one driver can have devastating effects on so many lives so we are continuing to urge drivers to pay attention, take care at all times and obey the law while they are behind the wheel.
"Listening to our advice and sticking to the law, such as keeping to the speed limit, wearing a seatbelt, and not using handheld phones while driving, could be the difference between life and death.
“We can only do so much ourselves and can only be in certain places at any one time. If people are seeing driving offences, then they need to report them and make us aware so we can be directed to areas of concern, we can try and stop vehicles and engage with drivers, and we can make sure people stay safe.
“Our work isn’t just about penalising drivers, it’s also about us educating them about their behaviour and trying to change their mindset when they get into a vehicle.”
