April 10, 2026 - 191 views
Almost 50 drivers were stopped by police in North Wales as part of a targeted operation aimed at tackling dangerous driving on busy routes across the region.
Officers from the North Wales Police Roads Crime Unit took part in Op Tramline, a national initiative supported by National Highways that uses an unmarked heavy goods vehicle to monitor driver behaviour from an elevated position.
The specialist HGV allows trained officers to look directly into passing vehicles, helping them identify offences in real time. Any incidents are recorded on camera and passed to marked and unmarked police vehicles, which then stop drivers and take appropriate action.
During the latest operation, officers recorded 49 offences in total, including 22 drivers not wearing seatbelts, 11 using mobile phones at the wheel, as well as cases of careless driving, insecure loads and vehicle defects.
Sergeant Danny Rees said one particularly concerning incident involved a driver who had one foot on the dashboard while watching a film on their phone before veering in front of the unmarked HGV.
He said the results highlight why proactive enforcement is essential, adding that offences linked to the “Fatal 5” — including mobile phone use and not wearing a seatbelt — remain some of the most common and dangerous behaviours on the roads.
“These actions put not only the driver at risk but also other road users,” he said. “Operations like this will continue to target those who put lives in danger through poor driving.”
Police say the operation is part of ongoing efforts to improve road safety across North Wales, with similar campaigns in recent years also uncovering dozens of offences, including incidents of drug driving, defective vehicles and uninsured driving.
The Roads Crime Unit says further deployments of Op Tramline are expected into the summer as part of continued efforts to reduce serious and fatal collisions on the region’s road network.
