Police blitz on distracted drivers catches a woman eating her breakfast at the wheel

A car driver eating her breakfast at the wheel was just one of the 188 people dealt with as part of Surrey and Sussex Roads Policing Unit's recent crackdown on distracted drivers.

The undercover Operation Tramline campaign ran for five days from Monday, 15th to Friday, 19th March, with officers using an HGV 'supercab' loaned to the team by Highways England, alongside other unmarked cars to catch drivers behaving badly at the wheel.

The 'supercab' is an unmarked lorry from which officers have a high-level view into cars, trucks and vans, meaning they can spot dangerous drivers they wouldn't be able to see from an ordinary patrol car.

Across both counties a total of 233 offences were dealt with, committed by 188 drivers on routes including the M25 between junctions six and 14, and the M3 between junctions one and four. Offences included not being in proper control of a vehicle, driving on the hard shoulder, due without care and seatbelt offences.

Officers issued 33 Fixed Penalty Notices and reported 108 drivers for traffic offences. A total of 23 drivers were given 'words of advice'.

Sergeant Kellie-Anne Harris, of the Commercial Vehicle Unit, said: "Driving whilst distracted is a real danger and is something that can all too easily have fatal consequences. We hope by targeting distracted drivers with this dedicated operation we can reduce the risk to road users and to educate drivers about the dangers to not only themselves, but also others.

"Along with 47 uses of a mobile phone, 23 seatbelt offences and 13 speed offences, we saw some truly frightening things like a HGV driver taking both hands off the wheel to take a photo of the road ahead whilst on the M25, and a scaffolder driving a van which was 59% overweight. A van was also stopped due to having an insecure load, and subsequently the driver was arrested for drug-drive and possession offences."

Chief Inspector Michael Hodder, head of the joint Surrey and Sussex Roads Policing Unit, said: "Using unmarked vehicles including the Highways England HGV cab allows us to catch those driving whilst distracted, by allowing the team to look down on drivers and see into their vehicle from a better vantage point.

"The fact that the team recorded a staggering 188 offences in just five days highlights just how important and needed these types of operations are. Although my officers can't be everywhere, they can be anywhere, and I urge everyone to drive responsibly, or we will catch you."