Gwent Police joined forces with partner agencies yesterday, Wednesday, August 19, for the latest phase of Operation Utah.

Operation Utah is a multi-agency operation designed to identify and tackle road users putting other motorists at risk – either by driving illegally or by driving vehicles not up to a safe standard.

The road safety operation has been taking place across Gwent for the last 15 years and, this time, focused on the road network surrounding Newport’s Coldra roundabout.

Officers teamed up with partners from the HMRC, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Go Safe and Newport City Council.

With Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras mounted in police cars and on the road in order to help identify potential offences, officers escorted 54 vehicles to the Driver and Vehicle Agency weigh bridge and test site at Newport’s Coldra roundabout.

Throughout the course of the day, the operation saw:

8 traffic offence reports issued for offences including: drivers failing to wear seat belts; illegal tyres; invalid MOT; and insecure loads.

2 vehicles seized for no insurance.

2 arrests for drug driving, no insurance and driving otherwise in accordance with a driving license.

6 stop searches.

19 vehicles were prohibited by DVSA from leaving the site due to them not being roadworthy.

8 vehicles issued with delayed prohibitions by the DVSA – the vehicle would need to rectify the defect within 5 days and have it taken for a MOT.

10 vehicle inspection notices issued by DVSA.

8 fixed penalty notices issued for the offences of being overweight and having no tacho fitted.

1 vehicle seized by HMRC for illegally adapting suspension for the deception of carrying goods. 2,305.5 litres of non-UK duty paid alcohol seized from the vehicle.

40 speeding offences.

PC Rhys Taylor, lead for the operation, said: “Operation Utah is an effective, collaborative effort between several agencies.

“The operation aims to deny criminals the use of the roads and tackles irresponsible road users who endanger others by not adhering to road safety regulations or by using vehicles with dangerous defects.

“I would like to thank our partners for working with us and making this phase of Operation Utah possible.

“I hope the results from this operation send a clear message that driving irresponsibly or not maintaining the condition of your vehicle is unacceptable.”