by Tom Leaning
Police in Essex have been sending out an early warning to leisure vehicle drivers ahead of the Easter holidays to make the necessary weight and safety checks before starting their journeys during a recent caravan and trailer operation.
According to the Chelmsford Weekly News, two drivers in overweight vehicles received £600 fines and 32 other drivers were stopped by police during the first vehicle towing operation of the season.
Working with the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service and Central Registration & Identification Scheme, officers ran the operation at Junction 19 of the A12 trunk road, Chelmsford, near Boreham Services Lorry Park.
During the day of action, 34 vehicles were stopped, 21 of which were towing trailers and 11 were towing caravans.
Of the vehicles stopped towing caravans and trailers, only 12 were clear of any faults.
Two overweight 3.5 tonnes vehicles were found to be 15 per cent over the maximum authorised mass when weighed and the drivers fined £600.
A number of vehicles’ tyres were also over the five year recommendation and a total of eight vehicles had breakaway cables that were incorrectly fitted, or none fitted at all.
Some vehicles towing caravans had no extendable mirrors.
The driver of a trailer with a seized braking system was given a £100 fine and 3 points on his licence for driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition.
Of the vehicles that were stopped, four drivers were issued with fines and three licence points after it was discovered they did not have the correct category BE licence.
Gary Winfield, Roads Policing Constable from the Casualty Reduction Team, said: “This was a successful day and we can be satisfied that in all these cases, appropriate and robust action has been taken.
“There are a number of measures that people can take to ensure they are driving safely while towing caravans and trailers.
“If these measures are not taken, there can be serious and quite frankly tragic ramifications for all involved.
“We will be carrying out more of these checks, so please heed the warning and ensure you are being responsible on the road.”
