Vehicle Safety Officers given new powers (From Free Press Series)

Vehicle Safety Officers given new powers

BOY RACERS will be amongst those targeted by vehicle safety officers, under new powers given to them by police.

Cars with blacked out windows and noisy exhausts are set to be targeted by the officers and any vehicles with serious safety issues will be served with a prohibition order.

The new powers are aimed at helping Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) officers to improve the safety on roads and will also free up police officers to pursue their core duties. Three members of VOSA were given power to stop vehicles at the roadside, in an extension to the Gwent Police Community Accreditation Scheme.

Mike Williams, Peter Crabb and Paul Edwards all successfully completed police driving courses and training at North Wales Police, in order to qualify as VOSA Enforcement Support Officers, or 'Stoppers.'

They will now be able to carry out on the spot safety checks on HGVs, large passenger vehicles, cars and motorbikes.

Defects such as faulty brakes, tyres and high emissions will be targeted and the VOSA officers can impound vehicles with serious safety failures.

Similar powers are already in effect in 34 other police forces consequently stoppers are already a common sight with lorry drivers, who are used to having their tacographs and lorries checked.

Stoppers can now make on the spot checks in Gwent to ensure that vehicles are roadworthy without the assistance of a police officer.

The Stoppers will also be moving into the towns of Gwent targeting unsafe or illegal vehicles, and will be highly visible in vehicles bearing a distinctive yellow and black battenburg pattern.

Gwent Police Chief Constable Mike Tonge awarded the three VOSA officers with their certificates and badges at an official presentation at Police Headquarters on Friday. He said: "We lose far more people on the roads than to violence and some of the accidents have been down to simple safety issues."

l The Free Press accompanied VOSA Officer Mike Williams out on the motorway. Viewing traffic from a safe point, computer systems can flag up suspicious vehicles, or officers notice safety problems with vehicles - easy to spot faults include overloading. Stoppers are governed by usual road rules and have to stick to the speed limit.

Enforcement Officer Mike Williams said: "Though most of our work on the motorways will be targeted via our Automatic Number Plate Recognition system, in the towns it is about the look of a car. If there's a car with blacked out windows which sounds like a fog horn then of course it alerts you to possible defects, or high emissions levels."

"We don't have the power to enforce fines, but any driver with an unsafe vehicle can be prohibited from driving until the problem is fixed."