A Staffordshire road policing unit will begin operating 24 hours a day from the end of this month.
It comes as Staffordshire Police also relaunch an operation in response to a rise in road deaths during 2023.
Chief Constable Chris Noble said in his report to the latest police performance meeting that 44 people had lost their lives as a result of incidents on the county’s roads last year – six more than in 2022.
He described each death as a tragedy which left behind grieving families and friends.
“One of my biggest concerns is the number of fatalities on our roads – 44 deaths, 44 families pulled apart. That will live with them for the rest of their lives, incredibly traumatic incidents.
“They range from what very sadly what appears to be ill-health incidents to completely avoidable tragic circumstances. It is completely unacceptable levels of death and serious injury on our roads.
“There’s no single reason, or location, behind the rise in deaths we have seen. But in response, we relaunched Operation Lightning, investing more staff into a 24/7 roads policing unit to tackle those who put other road users at risk, and will continue to educate the wider driving community about the importance of road safety.”
Chief Constable Chris Noble
Chief Superintendent Paul Talbot gave further details at the meeting about Operation Lightning, which was relaunched in December, and the roads policing unit.
He said:
“We’re going 24-7 on 26th February and we have five extra staff who are going to be joining us.
“We are fully supported now through Jets, which is our vehicle maintenance team. We’re fully onboard and Operation Lightning is here to stay – it’s a proactive approach in regards to making sure Staffordshire is safe.
“From December and the launch of Operation Lightning we saw 58 arrests for drink driving or drug offences, 392 breath and drug swipes conducted in December alone, 38 stolen vehicles recovered and 272 traffic offences reported.
“It’s really about being proactive, visible, engaging with the communities and our partners in order to make the roads safer.”
Chief Superintendent Paul Talbot
