Admin l Friday, April 05, 2019
LONDON, U.K – Officers from the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command (RTPC), in partnership with Transport for London, made more than 20 arrests, issued hundreds of Traffic Offence Reports and seized around 90 vehicles, following a 24-hour operation to tackle uninsured motorists and dangerous drivers.
On Wednesday, 3 April, as part of its commitment to the Mayor’s Vision Zero policy to eliminate deaths and reduce serious injury on London’s roads by 2041, RTPC officers across London were out in force. Their aim was to deny dangerous drivers and criminals the use of the roads through a series of coordinated action, including road-side police checks.
Following the operation, 24 people had been arrested for various offences including drink and drug drive, wanted-on-warrant, and possession of drugs; and 548 traffic offence reports were issued for offences ranging from driving while using a mobile phone, excess speed, and dangerous driving. Additionally, 93 vehicles were seized for being driven without insurance, or not in accordance with the conditions of a licence.
Also, as part of Vision Zero, the Met has a priority of proactively targeting high-risk offenders – criminals on London’s roads who can pose a significant risk to other road users in the course of committing crimes or driving offences in general.
“Uninsured drivers are five times more likely to be involved in a road collision and many are more likely to be involved in criminal activity. They also increase other drivers’ insurance premiums.The penalty for driving a vehicle without insurance is six penalty points and a £300 fine, and can even lead to a driving ban”, Met police said.
Detective Superintendent Andy Cox, of the Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: “We are committed to identifying, targeting and removing the most dangerous drivers and riders from London’s roads, as part of Vision Zero.
“There are many drivers out there who show a total disregard for the law, driving a vehicle while disqualified, attempting to evade police, and endangering the lives of other road users. Motorists caught driving dangerously face very serious penalties, which may include heavy fines, their vehicles being seized or even time in jail.
“Working alongside our partners, we will continue our efforts to deliver highly effective roads policing to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in collisions while also catching criminals who use London’s roads – as the results from this operation show.”
Siwan Hayward, Director of Compliance and Policing at Transport for London, said: “Dangerous driving destroys lives and that’s why we’re working in partnership with the Metropolitan Police to crack down on careless and illegal behaviour on our roads. In just 24 hours, the RTPC found more than 600 people breaking the rules of the road and putting themselves and others in danger.
“We’re taking part in joint operations across London every day as part of our Vision Zero commitment to ensure that there are no deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads.
“Our message is clear, if you break the rules of the road you will be caught. Don’t risk your future and the lives of other road users.”
