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Police launch spot-checks to find defective vehicles

BBC Two police officers in high-vis police jackets lean into cars parked up as park of the checks. One is writing a pad.BBC
Almost half of the vehicles inspected so far had at least one defect

A winter crackdown on poorly maintained vehicles aims to "raise standards and save lives", police have said.

Officers carrying out random car checks across the island have found about 46% of the vehicles inspected so far had at least one defect.

Isle of Man Constabulary are urging motorists to checking wiper blades, lights, batteries and tyres, and make sure their tax, licence and insurance is up to date.

Sgt Elliot Butler of the Roads Policing Unit said: "We’re not here to punish people, but we’ve no hesitation in taking cars that could cause harm off the road."

A man in a high-vis, yellow coloured jacket kneels on the floor next to car and looks at its tyres. Other white cars line up behind it. A police car is parked next to them. A police officer in uniform walks past.
Roadside inspections are being carried out at locations around the island

The annual roadside checks are carried out in conjunction with the Department of Infrastructure and Customs officers, who also check for vehicles using illegal fuels.

The force is also looking to clamp down on motorists drug and drink driving, speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, using mobile phones or driving without due care and attention - described as the "fatal five" offences.

In the first three rounds of inspections, 108 vehicles were stopped and 48 drivers were issued with notices, which allow drivers to have minor defects fixed within seven days without facing further action.

Sgt Elliot Butler looks at the camera, he wears a high-vis jacket and a white hat with the force's emblem on it. His jacket has a radio attached to it.
Sgt Elliot Butler has been heading up the random checks across the island

Two cars have been seized, and a tractor loader was also taken off the road as part of the operation as it had been driven without tax for seven years.

Figures in the chief constable's most recent annual report showed that three people died and 64 people suffered serious injuries in crashes on Manx roads between April 2023 and March 2024.

Sgt Butler said: "Defective vehicles and the fatal five offences do lead to fatalities. Part of our job is to break that bad news to families, if we can do that just one less time a year, it's worthwhile."

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