Police forces are to carry out a week of action along the length of the M1, clamping down on dangerous drivers.

Latest offences caught by the unmarked National Highways HGVs include a driver using his elbow to drive a transporter

Officers from eight different police forces will patrol the motorway between London and Leeds from Monday 6 March to Sunday 12 March.

Hundreds of thousands of drivers travel over 21 million miles on the M1 every day,  accounting for one in seven of all motorway journeys.

The aim of the multi-agency Week of Action on the M1 – which has been labelled Operation Freeway –  is to slash the number of incidents on the motorway. In 2022 there were 73,593 incidents on the M1 – over 200 incidents every single day.

Next week’s sting operation will be carried out with the help of unmarked National Highways HGVs, which will look out for illegal behaviour, including mobile phone use, distracted driving or seatbelt offences.

From the elevated position in the HGV cab, officers can spot unsafe driving behaviour – whatever vehicle the motorist may be in.

First launched in 2015, the ‘Operation Tramline’ unmarked HGV cabs have been used to record more than 33,254 offences. Some 30,380 vehicles have been stopped by police.

The most common offences are not wearing a seatbelt (9,962) and using a mobile phone (8,368) followed by 2,257 who were not in proper control of their vehicle.

Consequences for drivers range from warnings to fixed penalty notices, court summons or arrest.

New footage shows some of the latest offences caught by the HGVs, including a video here of a driver using his elbow to drive a transporter along the M40 near Gaydon in Warwickshire.

Footage here shows a driver using his mobile phone on the A46 Coventry Eastern Bypass.

And a video of a car driver holding her mobile phone up to talk into as she drives one-handed along the M40 can be seen here.

National Highways head of road safety, Jeremy Phillips said: “Hundreds of thousands of drivers use our roads every day and the vast majority are sensible behind the wheel but some are putting themselves and others at risk.  Through this week of action we want to encourage motorists to think about their driving and to adopt safer behaviours.

“But those who continue to pose a risk should be aware that we are working with our police partners to make sure they are spotted and prevented from causing serious harm to themselves or others.”

Police forces taking part in Operation Freeway are: West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, Thames Valley and Bedfordshire, as well as the Leicestershire Road Safety Partnership.

In addition to the HGV cab patrols, partners taking part in the week of action and National Highways traffic officers will be present at motorway services offering advice to drivers and carrying out vehicle checks.