08 Nov Suspected drink driver arrested during road policing operation in Chelmsford
A suspected drug driver was arrested and four vehicles seized during a road policing operation in Chelmsford last week.
Officers from the Casualty Reduction Unit worked with colleagues from the Safer Essex Roads Partnership on Wednesday, November 2 to run a Surround a Town Operation designed to detect offenders using the roads and increase road safety.
Officers used Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to identify suspect vehicles which were then intercepted and taken to stop-check sites at services off the A12 at Boreham and on Broomfield Road.
A 29-year-old man from Chelmsford was arrested on suspicion of drug driving after officers spotted he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, stopped the vehicle in which he was travelling and carried out a drugs wipe test at the roadside. The man was arrested at Broomfield Road, Chelmsford just before 10.40am and has been released on bail pending further investigation until February 13, 2017.
During the operation, 36 people were dealt with for failing to wear a seatbelt and 23 drivers were stopped and dealt with for using a mobile phone behind the wheel.
Four vehicles were seized because their drivers didn’t have appropriate insurance and 15 were found not to have valid MOTs.
Two drivers were dealt with for driving otherwise than in accordance with the terms of their licence and another three for not being in proper control of their vehicle. One motorcyclist was stopped for driving carelessly.
Throughout the operation a Road Safety Officer from the Safer Essex Roads Partnership spoke to 100 members of the public in Chelmsford town centre about road safety issues.
Community SpeedWatch teams recorded 50 speeding drivers in Woodham Ferrers and Bicknacre and children at two local schools spoke to nine drivers about the manner of their driving during School Speed Watch events.
Adam Pipe, Casualty Reduction Manager at Essex Police, said: “The introduction of roadside drug testing kits means we are better equipped than ever to detect drug drivers on our roads. However sadly some drivers refuse to recognise drug driving as a serious offence and fail to consider the consequences when they get behind the wheel knowing they are under the influence of drugs.
“Drug driving risks and ruins lives. If you drug drive, it’s only a matter of time before you’re caught, put before the courts and brought to justice.”
