Police to enlist villagers to crack down on lorries flouting weight limits in Wiltshire
Residents across Wiltshire could soon be enlisted to help tackle HGVs ignoring 7.5-tonne weight restrictions.
Residents across Wiltshire could soon be enlisted to help tackle HGVs ignoring 7.5-tonne weight restrictions.
Members of the Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel, which is made up of councillors from Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council, will be asked to note plans for a new community-led approach aimed at improving compliance with weight limits on local roads.
The proposals have been developed jointly by Wiltshire Police, Wiltshire Council, and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), with support from the office of Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson.
Weight restrictions are designed to protect villages, communities and rural roads from heavy goods vehicles using unsuitable routes.
However, enforcing the restrictions can be difficult because police officers must establish whether a lorry is travelling through the area unlawfully or has a legitimate reason to be there, such as making a delivery, servicing premises or undertaking agricultural work.
This places “significant operational demands” on limited roads policing resources because officers often need to stop vehicles at the time of an alleged breach before determining whether an offence has occurred.
To address the issue, a new reporting process is being prepared that would allow residents, parish councils, town councils and other local stakeholders to submit photographic or video evidence of suspected breaches.
Video footage would be submitted through the national Operation Snap portal, while still images would be uploaded through a dedicated Microsoft Form and email process.
Reports would need to show the vehicle registration number, the location of the alleged breach, and the relevant restriction signage.
Wiltshire Police would then record the operator involved and pass details to the DVSA.
Repeat reports involving the same operator would be highlighted, helping the agency identify potential patterns of non-compliance.
The scheme will not lead directly to fines being issued from submitted footage alone.
Instead, it is intended to build intelligence about operators repeatedly suspected of breaching restrictions, while helping police target enforcement efforts at the worst offenders.
DVSA, which is responsible for wider commercial vehicle regulation, has confirmed it is willing to receive referrals from Wiltshire Police and use its existing relationships with operators to raise concerns about alleged breaches and potential consequences of continued offending.
The new system is currently undergoing data protection and governance checks, with publication of the reporting arrangements on the Wiltshire Police website planned ahead of a formal launch in October.
Panel members will be asked to note the proposals and implementation plans when they meet at County Hall, Trowbridge on Thursday, October 1.