GLOUCESTERSHIRE police have stopped over a hundred drivers during an operation on the M5.
The scheme which was in partnership with National Highways known as - Operation Tramline - saw an unmarked HGV tractor unit being driven on the motorway between junction 8 near Worcester and junction 14 near Berkeley last week.
This allowed police to secretly gather evidence of distractions such as using a mobile phone, not wearing a seatbelt or insecure loads.
According to police, using a mobile phone while driving is one of the leading causes of road deaths in Gloucestershire.
This is along with excessive speed, not wearing a seatbelt, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
As part of the operation, 80 drivers were stopped for offences from Tuesday (November 15) to Friday (November 18) which included driving while using a mobile phone and not being in proper control of a vehicle.
An additional 20 motorists were also reported to court due to already having too many points on their licences or for committing multiple offences.
Two people were also arrested for drug driving with enquiries ongoing.
During the operation, officers who identified a motorist committing an offence, recorded video footage from the unmarked lorry before notifying officers in an accompanying car.
These officers then pulled over the offending vehicle and dealt with the driver.
There were also two officers patrolling along the stretch of the M5 on motorbikes
Sergeant Gareth Gladwin from the roads policing unit said: “We’re asking people to please consider road safety when driving and even more so when on the motorway, to put their phone away and have full focus on the road.
“Officers regularly see the aftermath of collisions where people have been distracted from driving, be it from using their mobile phone or inappropriate speed.
“We want to make the roads of Gloucestershire as safe as they can possibly be.”
The overall aim of Operation Tramline is to change driver behaviour and to discourage non-compliance with police and National Highways working in close partnership.
The operation was introduced to crack down on offenders who continue to break the law and to help decrease the number of people killed or seriously injured on the National Highways road network.
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