Watch police video as motorist drives vehicle transporter with his ELBOW!

By Richard Silverwood
Published 3rd Mar 2023, 01:00 BST
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This video of a motorist driving a heavily-laden vehicle transporter using just an elbow has been released by shocked police.

Officers say the footage is just one example of driving offences they have come across along motorways across the country.

It was captured by police overtaking the transporter in an unmarked ‘supercab’. And it has been released ahead of a week of action that eight police forces, including Nottinghamshire, have launched, alongside National Highways, to tackle unsafe driving along the entire length of the M1.

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"This driver was seemingly oblivious to the police officers as they drove alongside him on the M40 in Warwickshire,” said a spokesperson for National Highways, the government-owned company that manages the main roads network in England.

A driver at the wheel of a horsebox, using his mobile phone to text someone while not wearing his seatbelt. He was caught on police footage on the A46 near Coventry.A driver at the wheel of a horsebox, using his mobile phone to text someone while not wearing his seatbelt. He was caught on police footage on the A46 near Coventry.
A driver at the wheel of a horsebox, using his mobile phone to text someone while not wearing his seatbelt. He was caught on police footage on the A46 near Coventry.

“He quickly pulled over when the officers caught his attention and notified their colleagues travelling behind to pull the vehicle over.

"It’s just one of many shocking incidents captured by police officers in our unmarked cabs.”

The week of action, which is part of Operation Tramline, will take place from next Monday (March 6) until Sunday, March 12 when officers will be patrolling the M1 in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Yorkshire and other counties looking for illegal driving.

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From an elevated position in the HGV ‘supercabs’, officers can spot unsafe driving behaviour and film it.

A motorist caught driving one-handed while using her mobile phone along the M40, which links Birmingham and London.A motorist caught driving one-handed while using her mobile phone along the M40, which links Birmingham and London.
A motorist caught driving one-handed while using her mobile phone along the M40, which links Birmingham and London.
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Since Operation Tramline was launched by National Highways across all major roads in 2015, 30,380 vehicles have been stopped and 33,254 offences have been recorded.

The most common offences have been not wearing a seatbelt (9,962) and using a mobile phone while driving (8,358), followed by not being in proper control of a vehicle (2,257).

Consequences for drivers have ranged from warnings and fixed penalty notices or fines to court summonses and arrests.

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Hundreds of thousands of drivers travel more than 21 million miles on the M1 every day, accounting for one in seven of all motorway journeys.

The aim of the week of action, labelled Operation Freeway, is to reduce the amount of dangerous driving on the M1. In 2022, there were 73,593 incidents, amounting to more than 200 every day. During the year, there were 4,087 collisions.

Jeremy Phillips, head of road safety for National Highways, said: “We want to encourage motorists to think about their driving and to adopt safer behaviours.”