How's this for an unusual tale, police in Nottinghamshire stopped a truck driver after he drove on the M1 with a van poking out of the back of his vehicle.
The unusual load, consisting of a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, was spotted last month during a routine operation being conducted from the cab of an unmarked HGV.
The truck was later stopped on the A42 where the driver was issued with a traffic offence report for driving an overweight vehicle and also for a tachograph offence.
The truck was prohibited from leaving the scene until the van was removed from the back.
PC Mike Grant, of Nottinghamshire Police’s roads policing unit, said: “I’ve seen a lot of things on the motorway before, but this was definitely a first.
“For good reason there are clear rules in place about the safe transportation of vehicles and other heavy and oversized loads.
“People who breach those rules are putting themselves and other road users in danger and will always be met with a firm policing response.”
Operation Tramline was a week-long police operation conducted in conjunction with National Highways.
In total, officers pulled over 78 vehicles for offences including speeding, mobile phone use, seatbelt violations, driving without insurance and driving without due care and attention.
In April, Operation Tramline marked 10 years since the road safety initiative was first rolled out.
Operation Tramline sees police officers patrolling major roads from the elevated cab of an HGV to get a better view into other vehicles.
Officers can easily spot drivers flouting the law, from using mobile phones and not wearing seatbelts to more serious offenses like careless driving.
The trucks are equipped with recording technology and they radio details of offenders to marked or unmarked police cars travelling nearby.
Since its launch in 2015, Operation Tramline has become a familiar sight on motorways and key A-roads, with three unmarked HGVs typically in operation across England and Wales. The initiative targets the so-called Fatal Five, in an effort to reduce road deaths.
Fatal Five is a road safety term used by police forces and safety campaigns across the UK to highlight the five most common and significant factors that contribute to serious injuries and fatalities on the roads.
The road safety Fatal Five are: speeding, drink and drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt and careless or dangerous driving.
