Launched in 2015, Operation Tramline is all about making England’s 4,300 miles of main roads safer. It’s part of a campaign to change driver behaviour and significantly reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured.
We provide three highly specified, unmarked, white tractor units - each with an elevated cab. These trucks have disabled speed limiters, a 360-degree high-definition enforcement camera system, and a jockey passenger seat.
National Highways loans the trucks to police forces across England – 35 so far - to help tackle illegal and unsafe driving. They allow officers to get behind the wheel and patrol the country’s roads with a bird’s eye view - seeing into vehicles and filming offences.
Operation Tramline acts as a deterrent and, implemented in a visible way often promoting where the tractor units are operating, it quickly spreads the word among drivers. It sends a clear road safety message, reduces offences and, ultimately, saves lives.
Each year, 40% of the offences detected are committed in HGVs; 30% in vans; and 30% in cars.
In Operation Tramline’s first six years, 30,380 drivers were stopped, and 33,254 offences were detected. The most common (9,962) was for not wearing a seat belt - a factor in 25% of fatalities on England’s main roads. 8,368 were for using a mobile phone and 1,539 for speeding.
Other offences included careless driving, drink/drug driving and the lack of vehicle tax or insurance.
Whilst not detracting from the risk attached to the more common offences, Operation Operation Tramline has also caught some very unusual offences. National Highways’ Mark Cartwright (Head of CV Incident Protection Team) recounts a driver having his pet parrots flying around in his cab, and another eating a fully-plated lasagne with a knife and fork!
We have supported Operation Tramline for six years (since 2017). In addition to the current three tractor units, we've provided modified trucks on an ad-hoc basis for specific single and joint force campaigns - involving up to seven police forces at the same time. Major operations on the motorway network included one on the M1, where we provided the operating base at our head office in Milton Keynes.
As part of its support, we now also supply driver training for the police forces operating the vehicles.
The National Highways Awards recognise successful partnerships and the award for exceptional supplier contribution was presented to Scott Neill (General Manager – Contracts) on the National Highways stand at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show.
Receiving the award, Scott commented: “We are pleased to support National Highways’ Operation Tramline and the police forces that implement it. Our involvement demonstrates our commitment to providing ‘safe, legal, compliant’ services, and reflects our approach to promoting road safety by providing the safest truck and trailers on the road and continually upgrading safety specifications on our vehicles.
“We’re incredibly proud to receive this award and would like thank all those involved in Operation Tramline - from the National Highways team and the frontline police officers to the engineers and support teams who make our roads that bit safer every day.”
Mark Cartwright added: “The aim of Operation Tramline is to improve the driving behaviour of all types of motorist and prevent harm occurring on our roads.
“We work closely with both Dawsongroup truck and trailer and police forces across the country to make our roads as safe as possible. Through Operation Tramline we are encouraging people to think about their driving and to adopt safer behaviours.
“While the small minority of drivers who continue to put themselves and others at risk should be aware that they can be spotted by officers using these unmarked cabs”