Op Wightwash: 117 driving offences dealt with over two days on the Island

More than 100 driving offences were identified in the space of two days as part of proactive efforts to tackle crimes on Isle of Wight roads.

Over the course of Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 March, mainland-based Roads Policing Unit (RPU) officers joined teams on the Island as part of Operation Wightwash.

Wightwash has been stood up in recent years to bolster our efforts in intercepting drivers committing offences on the road network, and is run at regular intervals throughout the year. 

During the two day op this week, 117 offences were dealt with on the road, including the arrest of a driver suspected of being under the influence of cannabis.

One vehicle was seized because the driver had no licence – he was initially stopped by police after he was spotted driving whilst on his mobile phone. The officers dealing with this stop also identified that the vehicle had no MOT.

Another vehicle was taken to a weighbridge due to concerns surrounding the load it was carrying, and it was found to be 68% overweight.

Throughout the op, other offences dealt with included:

• Drivers on their mobile phones
• Driving without seatbelts
• Insecure loads
• Excess speed
• Front windows excessively tinted
• Number plate offences
• Tyre tread issues
• Exhaust issues
• Licence offences
• Tax offences
• Vehicles driving through red lights

It’s not all doom and gloom however, with teams noticing an improvement in vehicles driving with secure loads and legal number plates when compared to previous Wightwash operations.

Road safety issues are regularly brought to our attention on the Isle of Wight, and are clearly of concern to Island residents. We want you to be reassured that we listen to these concerns, and regularly conduct enforcement action to target the minority of drivers whose standards fall far below what is legally expected of them.

Our activity has a particular focus on stopping drivers who display the ‘fatal four’ behaviours – these are the four poor driving habits that pose the greatest risk of leading to a serious or fatal collision, and include drink/drug driving, driving without a seatbelt, speeding, and mobile phone use whilst driving.

Police continue to develop and act upon the intelligence around hotspot locations across the Island for driving offences.

We encourage members of the public to report driving offences, and concerns around driving standards, to police as this all feeds into our intelligence-gathering work and helps us keep road users safe.

To make a report to police, call 101, or submit information via the report tool on the Hampshire Constabulary website. Always dial 999 in the event of an emergency.