A dangerous truck with more than 20 faults has been taken off the road during a road safety day.
Durham Police seized the vehicle and reported the driver after he was pulled in near to Bowburn Services. As well as having a shredded tyre and the load been held in by just one screw, officers were shocked to see a child in the cab without a booster seat.
The truck was one of several vehicles stopped today as part of a joint operation between Durham Constabulary and National Highways to support Project EDWARD – Every Day Without A Road Death - the national campaign which aims to educate drivers around road safety.
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Officers from the force’s Roads and Armed Policing Unit also handed out tickets for drivers not wearing their seatbelts – one of the Fatal 4 offences that sees people killed unnecessarily on the region’s roads every year.
Strategic Roads Policing Inspector Kev Salter of Durham Police said: “Project EDWARD is about preventing road deaths and one of the major factors in achieving that goal is changing drivers’ behaviours and attitudes towards the Fatal Four. Whether you’ve just passed your driving test or you’ve been driving for decades, avoidable collisions can and do happen. All too often we end up knocking on someone’s door to tell them their loved ones have died in a collision – it’s one of the hardest things we have to do. Our message is simple: don’t get complacent behind the wheel and help us make sure we don’t have to visit to your loved ones.”
The 'Fatal Four' are the four most common reasons why a death occurs on the road:
- Drink and drug driving
- Speeding
- Using a mobile phone while driving
- Not wearing a seat belt.
Setting up base at Bowburn Services, National Highways officers and representatives from Project EDWARD were also on hand to talk to drivers and give advice on a range of safety issues and handing out goody bags to youngsters.
National Highways regional safety programme manager Sarah Watson-Quirk said: “Safety is always our highest priority at National Highways, and Project EDWARD is a very important campaign helping us to tackle dangerous driving and discourage people from taking unnecessary risks that put themselves and others in danger."
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