Winter driving campaign
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DRIVERS are being given a guiding hand and support in ensuring their vehicles are ready for winter.
Roads police officers from Aberdeenshire, along with the Trunk Roads Patrol Group, are taking part in a week of action as part of the national ‘Get Ready for Winter’ campaign.
It aims to ensure that motorists are beginning to prepare their vehicles for the winter months and are taking the heavy rain, high winds, snow and ice into account. Taking extra care will reduce the risks to them and other road users.
Officers are carrying out road checks and patrols at locations throughout Aberdeenshire this week. They were providing advice around provide advice basic maintenance and precautions that can be taken in the lead up to winter.
As part of these checks, vehicles are being examined to ensure that they are road-worthy, paying attention in particular attention to brakes, lights and tyres. The campaign follows a weekend of activity from both road policing officers and local divisional officers, which saw 236 vehicles stopped and motorists engaged on routes including the A96, A90, A952 and B979. These checks saw 11 drivers reported for speeding, while a further 48 were given warnings. There were a further 33 drivers reported for a variety of offences, such as using mobile phones and seatbelt offences, with 16 others warned.
The weekend also saw eight people stopped and charged for driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs across both Aberdeenshire and Moray. All of these offenders were male, aged between 23 and 63, and four were detected at over four times the legal limit.
Inspector Ewan Innes, from the Aberdeenshire and Moray Divisional Road Policing Unit, said: “While there have been a small number of crashes over the past few days, it is encouraging that none of them resulted in any fatal or serious injuries. This is mainly due to the very high percentage of responsible and considerate motorists in the North East, who we can thank for their constant cooperation in our efforts to make our roads a safer place for all who use them.”
However, he added: “Yet again we have a minority of motorists who continue to act in an irresponsible and selfish manner, which puts their lives and the lives of others in danger.
“It is particularly concerning to see the number of people detected for driving under the influence of alcohol and this is something that we will continue to treat as a priority as we ensure that these offenders are charged for their actions.
“As the winter closes in and nights get darker, we will continue to look for any and all opportunities to engage with motorists through further operations and days of action. The safety of road users is a top priority for our officers throughout the North East and this has been reflected in our ongoing work under the Operation CEDAR initiative.”
