Welsh Police to Resume HGV Phone Crackdown

HGV driving schools all over the UK constantly warn students about the risks of using a mobile phone while driving. Not only is it dangerous, it could get you in trouble with the law. Drivers operating in Wales are about to find that out first-hand.

North Wales police, along with Road Safety Wales and three other police agencies, announced last week of plans to resume their successful HGV phone crackdown scheme. The scheme involves hiring HGV cabs to be used to spy on drivers who might be using mobile phones behind the wheel. The unmarked lorries will be fitted with special cameras to record any illegal activity.

Police officials say they will be targeting HGV drivers, but they will also be taking a good look at passenger vehicles as well. The two-week campaign will run from October 6-19 (2014) as a way to remind drivers to ‘keep their hands and eyes on the road’. Anyone caught using a mobile phone while driving could be subject to immediate fines or points, or given an appearance ticket for magistrates’ court.

The programme uses hired HGV cabs because the vehicles give police a better view of what is happening. In a passenger vehicle, there’s no way for them to see what the HGV drivers are doing; using lorries put them on equal footing. The lorries also allow them to look down into the windows of passenger vehicles to see if drivers are using phones in their laps.

The campaign’s previous efforts have already been highly successful. For example, the police caught 1,000 violators during the 2013 campaign. For the first seven months of 2014, an additional 1,069 violations were recorded. Police officials say they will continue running the programme until drivers get the message.

No Good Reason

At the end of the day, there is no good reason for using a mobile phone while driving. Being distracted by a mobile phone is far too dangerous to make any call or text message worth taking the risk. It takes but a second of distraction to cause an accident that could result in serious injuries or fatalities. Moreover, with the size and weight of HGVs as compared to passenger vehicles, the risk is even more pronounced.

As one of the leading HGV driving schools in the UK, the HGV Training Centre believes in the importance of cracking down on drivers who use mobile phones. We discuss mobile phone use with our students, but once they graduate and go to work, they are left to make their own decisions. Drivers unwilling to follow the law must be encouraged to do so by the police.

If you are looking to start a career as an HGV driver, we hope you will consider training with us. The HGV Training Centre operates more than 45 facilities around the UK; there is probably one near enough to you to make training convenient. We can train you to drive any commercial vehicle in preparation for a long and satisfying career.

1. Daily Post – https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-police-spy-drivers-7873826