POLICE who took to the roads in a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) during a five-day operation in West Yorkshire last week have caught a number of reckless drivers.

The joint operation, Operation Tramline, between the police and Highways England was aimed at targeting mobile phone use and other driving offences.

Officers were out on the county’s roads in the HGV filming the driving habits of other road users.

A police spokesman said there were 27 offences for driving while using a hand-held mobile phone and six motorists were stopped for not being in proper control of their vehicle.

Forty-one drivers of HGVs were stopped and eight offences were recorded for insecure loads.

Fifteen fixed penalty notices were issued and 40 traffic offence reports were issued.

Sergeant Steve Suggitt, of West Yorkshire Police’s Safer Roads and Neighbourhood Support Team, said: “This operation was not about penalising HGV or any other type of commercial vehicle driver, it’s about keeping our roads safe for everyone and making people aware of road safety.

“Driving any fully loaded commercial vehicle carries an additional burden of responsibility and this is about making drivers aware of those responsibilities and reducing road casualties.

“The consequences of taking your eyes off the road, even for a matter of seconds, can be devastating, even more so if you are at the wheel of a lorry or other large vehicle.

“At 30 MPH a vehicle travels 100 feet in 2.3 seconds. That’s equivalent to the length of a Boeing 737 aircraft. "HGV’s are potential killing machines.

“The message is simple. Keep your phones out of reach and out of sight.”