A major road safety operation last month revealed alarming breaches by several HGV drivers, which resulted in severe penalties being issued.
The operation, which took place across Felixstowe, saw Suffolk Police discover lorry drivers who had been at the wheel for 22 hours with minimal rest and food delivery vehicles operating without proper insurance.
The two-day enforcement action, which took place in September, brought together Suffolk’s Commercial Vehicle Unit with multiple agencies, including Border Force, immigration officials and vehicle standards inspectors.
Officers uncovered serious violations ranging from HGV drivers flouting mandatory rest periods to takeaway delivery drivers using vehicles with defective tyres.
The operation targeted both the town’s gig economy workers and international lorry traffic entering through Felixstowe Port, resulting in thousands of pounds in fines and exposing dangerous practices that put road users at risk.
Saturday evening’s enforcement in Felixstowe town centre concentrated on takeaway delivery drivers, with 28 vehicles pulled over for inspection.
Suffolk’s Commercial Vehicle Unit, supported by armed police teams and special constables, discovered one delivery vehicle operating without appropriate commercial insurance while also having a faulty tyre.
Immigration officers examined 15 drivers during the operation, confirming all possessed legitimate work permits. However, multiple safety violations emerged among the delivery fleet.
The police recorded several cases of drivers breaching road safety rules
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SUFFOLK POLICE
Several vehicles were deemed unfit for road use, while others displayed broken lights, illegally tinted windows, and drivers not wearing seatbelts.
The operation highlighted widespread safety issues within the local food delivery sector, where drivers regularly use their personal vehicles for commercial purposes without ensuring proper insurance coverage or vehicle maintenance standards are met.
Sunday’s port operation shifted focus to Heavy Goods Vehicles arriving from overseas, with 26 lorries inspected by teams including port police and Border Force personnel.
The most severe breach involved a driver who had spent 22 hours behind the wheel with merely an hour’s break.
Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore praised the unit’s effectiveness: “I find it absolutely unbelievable that drivers, who rely on their driving licence for their livelihood, would take such a cavalier attitude to their safety and the safety of other road users.”
Another HGV driver had accumulated 63 working hours, including 33 hours of driving across 2,000 miles without taking mandatory rest periods.
Officers from 10 different nations received briefings about facilitation offences as Border Force teams searched trailers for illegal entrants.
While 13 lorries passed inspection without issue, eight drivers received warnings about hours violations.
Five foreign-registered HGVs attracted penalties totalling £7,300, all relating to breaches of driving time regulations that govern how long commercial drivers can operate before mandatory rest.
HGVs can be fined for exceeding driving hours
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GLOUCESTERSHIRE CONSTABULARYThe weekend operation resulted in 54 vehicles being examined across both days, revealing widespread compliance failures among commercial drivers.
Immigration checks found no illegal workers amongst the delivery drivers inspected, though vehicle safety standards proved problematic throughout.
Beyond the headline cases, officers identified numerous vehicles in poor condition, with defective lighting systems and illegal window tints amongst common infractions.
PC Terry Harvey from the Commercial Vehicle Unit said: “Our remit involves conducting checks on all vehicles used for business purposes, which, as demonstrated by this operation, ranges from fast food deliveries to HGVs.
“The two highlighted driver hours offences were particularly concerning – anyone not taking the required rest breaks when driving a vehicle of that size is very clearly putting the lives of other road users at risk.”