25-03-04 Operation Mermaid
The second of this years national checks of goods vehicles known as Operation Mermaid took place on 23 March 2004. The Metropolitan Police force co-ordinated the checks that were held at 59 locations around the country.
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) staff examined the vehicles for both mechanical and traffic offences. Vehicle examiners checked 966 vehicles including 189 foreign vehicles. 121 vehicles received immediate prohibitions for mechanical defects and 124 received delayed prohibitions. 26 immediate prohibitions and 29 delayed were issued to foreign registered vehicles.
Traffic examiners checked 665 vehicles including 112 foreign vehicles. 76 UK registered vehicles were issued with immediate prohibitions. 22 of these were for drivers hours and 8 were for overloading. 34 prohibitions were issued to foreign registered vehicles.
Commenting Bob Tatchell, VOSA’s Operations Director said:
“Our aim is to improve road safety and environmental protection and holding these checks forms a vital part of our strategy for achieving this aim. The results show the importance of continuing with this series of checks. They are an effective way of detecting at the roadside those operators who fail to meet the required standards and compromise road safety”.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Operation Mermaid is the code name for a series of multi agency nationwide checks organised by the Police.
The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is the Government Agency with statutory responsibilities for ensuring the road worthiness of the vehicle fleet. It contributes to the maintenance and improvement of road safety and environmental protection by the enforcement of relevant legislation. It does this by checking vehicles and drivers at roadside and other enforcement checks and through the annual testing of all vehicles including Heavy Goods Vehicles, Light Goods Vehicles, Public Service Vehicles, Cars and Motorcycles.
The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) was created on 1 April 2003 by merging the Former Vehicle Inspectorate and the Traffic Area Network Division of the Department for Transport. VOSA is responsible for:
- Processing applications for licences to operate lorries and buses and registering bus services
- Operating and administering testing schemes for all vehicles, including the supervision of the MOT testing scheme
- Enforcing the law on vehicles to ensure that they comply with legal standards and regulations
- Enforcing drivers' hours and licensing requirements
- Supporting Traffic Commissioners to help them make informed decisions on operator licensing, vocational drivers and bus registration requirements
- Providing training and advice for commercial operators
- Investigating vehicle accident, defects and recalls.
Should you require further information about VOSA, its work or help with stories or programming related to road safety and environmental protection please contact: Jay Fordham or Miranda Roberts, VOSA, 0117 954 3334/3233, e-mail jeanette.fordham@vosa.gov.uk / miranda.roberts@vosa.gov.uk.
Page last updated: 25/09/2006