This week, officers from Staffordshire Police have been working with National Highways as part of an ongoing operation to crack down on irresponsible drivers.

Yesterday (7 September), police began working across Staffordshire's road network, using a HGV cab loaned from National Highways as part of the latest Operation Tramline, to catch out irresponsible drivers on the county's roads.

So far, the operation and use of the cabs has enabled officers to identify a total of 1,018 offences on the region's roads.

The operation sees Staffordshire Police supplied with an unmarked HGV cab for week-long periods throughout the year.

The cab's elevated position allows officers to identify and record evidence of dangerous driving, including mobile phone use, seatbelt offences and driver distraction.

Since the operation was launched in 2015, officers from across 36 police forces in the UK have stopped more than 55,000 drivers.

The most common offences were not wearing a seatbelt (17,000 people stopped) and using a mobile phone (16,000 stopped).

Staffordshire Police said: "Earlier this year, we stopped more than 100 drivers in a week as part of the operation, with one driver spotted watching a film behind the wheel and another rolling a cigarette.

"Our road crime team (RCT) who are involved in the operation across the A38, A5, A34, A50, A449, M6 and M54 in Staffordshire, have already reported: 10 drivers for mobile phone offences (including four HGV drivers and six car drivers); with four people reported for seatbelt offences and three other vehicles stopped for being in a dangerous condition.

"Alongside this, one HGV driver was reported for having an insecure load and another one was reported for being four tonnes overweight.

"The HGV companies will also be reported to the Traffic Commissioner for possible further action.

"In the same four-hour period, another vehicle was seized for no insurance, one was also stopped for being linked to a theft offence in Stoke-on-Trent last month, and two other vehicles were stopped – one for excessively tinted windows and another for a non-conforming number plate.

"This takes the total number of offences reported as part of the operation in Staffordshire, since 2015, from 995 on Sunday (6 September) to 1,018 yesterday (7 September).

Inspector Chris Moss, of RCT, said: "We know most drivers, who use our roads every day, are sensible and safe behind the wheel, but a minority are putting themselves and others at risk by engaging in dangerous behaviours.

"Ultimately, our overall goal is to reduce the number of incidents caused by dangerous driving and improve safety on our roads, working in partnership with National Highways, to identify as many offences as possible and remind people of their responsibilities to protect themselves and others when behind the wheel.

"Surpassing the 1,000 milestone acknowledges how important operations like this are in keeping our roads safe, and though we do not want to be having to stop and report people for offences, every time we do, we know we are improving the safety of our road network for all who use it."

Deputy Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime, Dave Evans, who spent time with the team yesterday, said: "We are still losing too many people on our roads each year.

"Operation Tramline is part of the vital work that our Road Crime Team is doing, working in partnership with National Highways, to ensure our motorways and main strategic roads are as safe as possible."

National Highways Regional Safety Programme Manager, Marie Biddulph, said: "We are disappointed by the number of people who are prepared to put themselves and others at risk with dangerous driving behaviours and this milestone underlines why the work of Operation Tramline is so important.  

"Through Tramline and other safety initiatives we are working closely with our police partners in an effort to persuade that minority of people who continue to demonstrate unsafe driving to think again.

"But if they fail to drive responsibly, they will be spotted by officers in one of the cabs which will continue to patrol our roads and help make our roads as safe as they can possibly be."

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Find out more about driver safety here.

To report driving offences, call 101, use LiveChat on the Staffordshire Police website or call 999 in an emergency.