Police 'dismayed' by check findings
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WEST YORKSHIRE police have expressed dismay at the number of dangerous vehicles being operated in the county, despite the lessons supposedly learned from the Sowerby Bridge tragedy.
In a check last week more than half of the goods vehicles stopped in an intelligence-led operation were committing offences.
It's 10 years since a 30-tonne truck with defective brakes ploughed into a row of shops at Sowerby Bridge killing six people. But police say trucks are still being driven in a similar condition on the county's roads.
Officers stopped and checked 82 goods vehicles in the two-day operation, ranging from panel vans to HGVs. Of those 42 had brake, steering or other mechanical defects, poor tyre condition or drivers' record problems. Three immediate prohibitions were issued.
Chief Inspector Gary Parker says he was not surprised at the high strike rate achieved in the roadside stops, due to the intelligence received. But he is concerned that drivers would have been aware of the defects.
The operation also included VOSA,Customs,DVLA, Health & Safety Executive and the Department for Work and Pensions