Nearly 30 cars stopped – and one seized – during road safety operation on A61 near Ripon

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A number of cars were stopped – and one seized – during a road safety operation on the A61 between Bishop Monkton and Ripley yesterday (April 7).

North Yorkshire Police today said officers from Harrogate Response, the local neighbourhood policing team and road policing officers carried out the enforcement operation in partnership with DVSA.

Officers were deployed along a section of the A61 between Harrogate and Ripon, who were in unmarked vehicles and on an unmarked motorbike, to identify road-related offences.

The force chose the stretch of road following a spate of fatal collisions over the last few years. Most recently, a Ripon man in his mid-80s was killed in a crash on the A61 on Saturday night.

You can read more about that, as well as about a speed limit reduction on the A61 at South Stainley, here.

Today’s statement said almost 30 vehicles were stopped, four of which were issued with an immediate prohibition for various dangerous driving defects that required rectification.

Officers issued eight traffic offence reports for using a mobile phone and not wearing a seatbelt, and seized one vehicle.

PC Gareth Skelton, who led yesterday’s operation, said today:

PC Skelton added his message to anyone who chooses to commit any of the five offences is: the police are “not having it”.

The force will continue to be “relentless” with its approach to reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries on local roads, he said.