Police crackdown to tackle driving's 'fatal five'

Police have been cracking down on drivers across Cornwall to increase awareness over road safety and tackle "the so-called fatal five".

Devon and Cornwall Police's operation is taking place all week until Sunday.

Ch Supt Jim Gale said 23 fatalities took place on Cornwall's roads in 2024, adding "one death on our roads is too many".

"We are tackling the so-called 'fatal five', which is all about people driving more safely on the roads and reducing our killed and seriously injured," he said, adding the five included being aware of mobile phones, seatbelts, impairment, inappropriate speeds and driver health, such as poor eyesight.

Ch Supt Gale said the fatal five, in terms of road traffic collisions, tends to be around distractions.

"People often don't go to the optician's, they don't realise that they are driving with eyesight that falls below the minimum standard and that puts people at risk," he added.

"Losing concentration, forgetting about the speed limits or picking up the telephone. It is so easily done."

He said: "The harm it has caused in communities, when a death of a loved one or a family member occurs, isn't a 'here today, gone tomorrow' thing. It lasts for years."

Police were in the business "of educating people, enforcing activity and the law where appropriate", he said, such as "making sure the fatal five are in the forefront of people's minds when they get in the car".

Insp Tony Hannaford said the proactive operation involved neighbourhood units, local response units and the commercial vehicle unit, which stopped vehicles to check for "stowaways".

He said there were "lots of reasons" why police might ask a vehicle to stop, including the condition of a vehicle and to prevent people smuggling.

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