A DRIVER watching iPlayer and another unwrapping his burger just purchased at the motorway services were among those caught during the latest police crackdown on problem driving along hundreds of miles of motorway and major roads in Surrey and Sussex.

The so-called Operation Tramline, which concentrated on the M25, M23 and A3 and stopped 112 vehicles during the seven days in March, involved the use of one of the new HGV “supercabs” provided by Highways England, staffed by officers from the Surrey and Sussex Roads Policing Unit (RPU).

Whilst one officer was behind the wheel of the HGV, another was in the passenger seat watching out for dangerous or distracting driving and recording footage of incidents giving cause for concern.

The ‘observer’ then relayed information to a further police vehicle travelling behind which intercepted and indicated to the driver to pull over.

The increased height of the HGV’s viewing platform meant that driving offences that might previously have been difficult to spot from standard patrol vehicles, were able to be seen.

RPU Sergeant Sharon Kingston said: “Working together with Highways England, we were once again able to work in a cost effective way towards our joint aim to provide a safe and reliable road transport system for all drivers.

“Using the new ‘supercab’ with an increased height allowed us to spot far more drivers committing some of the offences which can have such a devastating effect on the county’s roads - the ‘fatal four’ as they are named, include drink/drug driving, using a handheld mobile phone, speeding and seat belt offences.

“It was a very successful operation with more than 130 interventions made and reasons for stopping vehicles varied from using a hand held mobile phone, speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and not in proper control.

“We hope that the campaign will remind motorists that they should always drive safely and that even though they might not see a marked police car nearby, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t being spotted.”

Colin Evans, safety co-ordinator in the South East for Highways England, said: “Safety is our top priority and I am pleased that our HGV cab has been so useful in helping the police in Surrey to identify unsafe behaviour on the motorways and major A roads in the region.

“It provides an ideal viewing platform for police officers to identify dangerous behaviour that can be difficult to spot from standard police patrol vehicles.”

Operation Tramline will be carried out on the roads in the future as Surrey Police continues to tackle dangerous and anti-social driving habits.