Driver goes hands free to eat meal at wheel

A taxi was stopped due to the driver using his phone at the wheel

A driver going hands free to eat a meal at the wheel and another rolling a joint while in transit were among incidents seen by police during a crackdown on motorway offences.

The West Midlands force said officers dealt with 195 offences during a single week, with 50 involving drivers using their phone, and 34 involving drivers not wearing a seatbelt.

Operation Tramline, a project across the country in partnership with National Highways, saw officers using an unmarked lorry to detect and deal with traffic offences as they happened.

The force's patrols took place on routes including the M5, M6, M42 and A38(M) between 18 and 25 October.

The height of the lorry meant officers could clearly see into other vehicles, police said.

A lorry driver, transporting flammable liquids, was spotted holding a cup in one hand and a spoon in the other, eating a meal while driving.

A van driver was travelling at speed through traffic, with no hands on the steering wheel, while typing on his mobile phone.

Another van driver was "seen rolling a suspected cannabis joint" and later tested positive for cannabis and cocaine", the force said.

In a further incident, a taxi was "being driven unprofessionally" and the driver turned out to be using his mobile phone as were many more.

A driver was rolling a joint behind the wheel, police said

Police recorded "11 insecure load offences, 11 drivers without insurance, and five drivers in prohibited vehicles using the outside lane".

Sgt Sarah Phillips, from the force's roads policing unit, said: "As the numbers show, [the operation] has meant we've been able to detect and deal with offences happening in real-time, offences that are undoubtedly putting other road users at risk.

"Some of the examples are truly shocking, and I hope they act as a reminder to drivers to think about their behaviour."

National Highways regional safety programme manager Marie Biddulph said people were "four times more likely to be in a collision if using a phone at the wheel".