Last week a successful multi partner operation was carried out in Bracknell to improve road safety resulting in arrests being made, fines being issued and a vehicle involved in a fly tipping incident being seized.
The multi partner operation involving officers from the Public Protection Partnership (PPP), Thames Valley Police Roads Policing (TVP) and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) took place on Thursday 12 December 2024 in the Western Road area.
Spot checks on vehicles including commercial vehicles and vehicles transporting waste were undertaken. The aim of the operation was to educate road users, identify overloaded vehicles, identify any waste carriers operating without a licence, detect drunk/ drug drivers and take other enforcement action where required. Licensing Officers also took the opportunity to check that any taxi’s stopped were operating lawfully. All taxis checked on the day were fully licensed.
Four fixed penalty notices were issued for vehicles being overweight and one driver and the business will be prosecuted as it was discovered that their vehicle was 53% over the weight limit. Overweight vehicles not only cause damage to roads but also having an overweight vehicle affects a driver's efficiency to brake and steer, therefore putting themselves and other road users at risk.
Two drivers were issued with fixed penalty notices for not wearing their seatbelts and one driver was arrested for drug driving. It's an offence to drive with any of 17 controlled drugs above a specified level in your blood and the police are now able to conduct a roadside screening test or a field impairment test if they think you may have taken drugs.
Officers undertook 6 waste carrier licence checks. All were in order and were able to produce their Waste Transfer notices. If you're asking someone else to take away household waste, then it's your responsibility to make sure the person doing so is registered as a waste carrier. You can easily check on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) website on this link: https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers. You could be prosecuted if your waste is fly tipped, even if you paid for it to be disposed of correctly in good faith. Always double check.
One of the vehicles stopped had been involved in fly tipping incidents on the 21st and 22nd November 2024. The vehicle was recovered by the police and will now form part of a Public Protection Service fly tipping investigation.
Councillor Iskandar Jefferies the Chairman of the Joint Public Protection Committee said “It is good to see our officers working with partners to make our roads safer for all. This work links to two of the targeted priority outcomes of the PPP Building Safer Communities and Protecting the Environment.
The Council is committed to reducing the harm caused by the failure to comply with legislation controlling waste and where appropriate taking legal action against fly-tippers and others that transgress the law
These operations are invaluable for enforcement purposes and for the deterrent effect and we look forward to working with our partners again in the near future.
We would like to thank the drivers for their cooperation last week.”
