Road Safety checks on A55 at Ewloe

An operation which saw officers checking goods vehicles and speaking to drivers about road safety during the winter was held yesterday (Wednesday, 8^th November).

Between 9am and 3pm, officers along with partners from the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA) targeted commercial vehicles and checked them for compliance with legislation on the A55 at Ewloe under the remit of Operation Mermaid.

24 hour prohibitions were given for various offences, including drivers’ hours offences. Fixed penalty notices were also given for number plate offences, defective tyres and for having no valid MOT certificate. Cautions were also given for excess speed and for having no water in windscreen washers.

Sergeant Tony Gatley from the North Wales Police Roads Policing Unit said: “We carry out operations such as this throughout the year in conjunction with our partners to ensure that commercial vehicle users are using the roads safely for the benefit of all of us.

“Throughout the day we focused on road safety offences, taking into account the change in hours of darkness and deteriorating weather and driving conditions, so we focussed on checking lights, tyres and windscreen washers and wipers.”

“We will continue to carry out these operations and conduct pre-winter checks in line with our objective of ensuring that vehicles are safe on the roads of North Wales.”

Is your vehicle winter ready?

Regularly servicing, and checking your vehicle is in good running order before setting out will reduce your chances of breaking down on the road. It's worth making these checks regularly - and particularly before a long winter journey:

Is the battery fully charged? Replace it if it's not completely reliable.
Are your lights clean and all working. Carry spare bulbs.
Change your windscreen wiper blades if they are worn
Check your fluid levels, screen wash, engine oil, anti-freeze in radiator
Use a higher concentration of screen wash to prevent freezing
Check all windows are clean
Ensure your tyres are correctly inflated and replace them before the tread has reached the legal minimum. Check your tyre pressures (refer to the owners handbook) & tread depth (min 1.6mm)
Consider booking your car into a reputable garage for a winter service for extra peace of mind.

Further advice regarding driving in winter conditions is available here