VIDEO: Police catch motorway trucker reading book at wheel
A motorway lorry driver was caught reading a book behind the wheel of his truck by traffic police in England.
Police secretly filmed the driver on the M60 motorway around Manchester with his book open and resting on the steering wheel.
He was one of 71 motorists stopped for traffic offences during a covert crackdown by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) called Operation Tramline.
The operation began on May 1, and saw officers from the Road Policing Unit patrol the M60 motorway in an HGV cab kitted out with recording equipment.
The elevated position of the cab allowed officers to see into other HGVs and smaller vehicles and record offences as they were taking place, including texting while driving and aggressive driving.
Drivers were stopped for a number of offences but the majority, 50 in all, were stopped for using a mobile phone.
Of the 71 stopped, 66 were issued with tickets for driving without due care, one given an on the spot fine and one vehicle was seized.
Inspector Susan Redfern of GMP, said: “The operation has been a big success and we are delighted with how it has gone.
“We have had some good results over the course of Op Tramline and I hope that those people who have been issued with penalties take their punishments to heart and stop committing offences that are endangering the lives of other drivers.
“There’s been quite a range of reasons that we’ve stopped people for but I think probably the most unbelievable one was stopping one particular driver for reading a book at the wheel!”
The reading lorry driver was given a graduated fixed penatly notice, while 66 others will be offered a driving course or face a penalty and fine, depending on their previous motoring record.
One motorist had their vehicle seized and three others given, “words of advice” by officers and allowed on their way.
