Road safety operation finds 86 drivers breaching ‘red X’ lane

More than 80 drivers were found to have breached the ‘red X’ lane closures on our motorways following a joint road safety operation.

Over eight separate days, officers from the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) teamed up with National Highways to target drivers putting themselves and others at risk by breaching motorway lane closures.

We’ve seen an increase in the number of drivers breaching these closures over the last few months, resulting in delays to blue-light responders and an increased road safety risk on busy motorway networks.

During the initiative, we spotted 86 drivers using closed lanes, as well as one driver who was caught driving while disqualified and another for driving without due care and attention.

Notices have been served to all of the registered keepers of these offending vehicles.

Sergeant Rob Powell, from CMPG, took part in the operation. He said: “Failing to adhere to red X lane closures is an offence. It can cause serious delays to emergency responders in times of need, can increase the chances of collisions happening and causes increased congestion on busy road networks.

“While the vast majority of motorists adhere to these signs and don’t cause any issues, those that continue to ignore them will be identified and dealt with accordingly.

“Failing to read road signs, combined with the fatal four factors, are one of the many ways in which serious and fatal collisions happen in Staffordshire.

“It’s vital that we continue to work proactively to champion road safety across Staffordshire and to do everything possible with our partners to educate drivers before the accidents happen.”

Tragically, 45 people lost their lives in road collisions across our county in 2023. We’re committed to proactively policing our roads and taking action against those putting other motorists at risk.

Recently, we launched our Look Again campaign in a bid to reduce the number of serious and fatal collisions in Staffordshire. We arrested 70 people on suspicion of a number of driving offences over the course of the campaign.

To read more about it, visit: Look Again to keep Staffordshire’s roads safe | Staffordshire Police