Police swoop in fresh road safety crackdown

SPOT checks . . . on Egerton Street, Oldham

POLICE are clamping down on rogue drivers across the borough who don't obey the rules of the road.

Yesterday, Oldham Police held a traffic stop from 10am to 1pm on Egerton Street as they randomly asked drivers to pull over as they send a message that dishonest motorists will not be tolerated.

The police checked vehicles for insurance, MOT and car tax while also catching drivers using mobile phones and those not wearing a seatbelt.

One car was seized for having no road tax and four people were found using a mobile phone while driving, which results in three points on their licence and a £100 fine or the option of taking a safety awareness course.

Stopped
A total of 10 fixed-penalty notices were also handed out for drivers not wearing a seatbelt.

Police Constable Damieon Pickles said: "We have stopped multiple cars this morning where tickets have been handed out for no seatbelts.

"We have seized one car for having no road tax. But the biggest thing this morning has been mobile phone use.

"This is all about putting confidence back into the community.

"It's about stopping people putting lives in danger and I do not think they realise the effect on the community they have."

Constable Pickles said a previous traffic operation had seen the police seize eight cars and they would continue to carry out stops until the message had got through.

He added: "We're going to be doing this quite regularly until the message gets across about driving with the correct insurance, making sure your children are strapped in and that people do not use mobile phones while driving.

"We're working in cohesion with the DVLA and getting vehicles off the road.

"When you are driving without insurance and without tax there is no benefit of the doubt, it is making people wake up and it is making people think before they get into a car.

"We're trying to put a positive back to the community, we want people to feel safe when they are out on the streets."