Police seize 100 dangerous vehicles in only three weeks

7:59am Saturday 25th August 2007

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POLICE have seized a shocking 100 vehicles in only three weeks on the roads of York and North Yorkshire.

Officers have impounded the cars and vans as part of Operation Helical, a hard-line road safety campaign aimed at cutting the carnage on the county's roads.

Using powers granted to them under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, police have authority to seize vehicles which are uninsured or for which the driver does not have an appropriate licence.

Deputy Chief Constable Adam Briggs, who is leading the operation, said: "Uninsured and unlicensed drivers are a menace. Using these powers, we can not only prosecute them for the offences they are committing, we can also remove their vehicles. If the driver is unable to produce the relevant documentation within the prescribed time period, the vehicles are destroyed."

Hundreds of offences ranging from speeding to driving with no licence have been dealt with since July 30. A total of 5,000 vehicles have been stopped by officers.

"It is quite appalling to find so many offences being committed on our roads in just a three-week period," said Mr Briggs.

"We are a large county with more than 6,000 miles of road, but it is staggering to realise that so many people are willing to play Russian Roulette with their own and other people's lives.

"Our enforcement campaign will be relentless until the message that this not acceptable starts to hit home."

So far, 3,300 policing hours have been dedicated to Operation Helical, with the assistance of money made available from North Yorkshire County Council, and the support of the 95 Alive campaign.

The operation is planned to continue until the end of the summer.

How the motoring offences stack up

Operation Helical was launched on July 30.

Since then, 87 drivers have been prosecuted for having no insurance and 24 for driving without a licence.

Just over 1,000 fixed penalty tickets have been issued for speeding, with another 178 drivers going before the courts - including 74 who have been fast-tracked to court for exceeding the speed limit by more than 30mph.

More than 200 drivers have been prosecuted for the illegal use of mobile phones and more than 700 for seat belt offences. In all, 52 motorists were arrested.

However, there were indications that the "don't drink and drive" message may be having some effect. Out of 2,200 breath tests, only 22 were positive.