Man arrested during Project Zero patrols in Trowbridge

A man was arrested on suspicion of drug driving during Project Zero patrols in Trowbridge last week.

Project Zero is a roads policing operation held every Wednesday at a different location in the county. It sees officers targeting drivers committing any of the fatal five offences in a bid to reduce the number of casualties on our roads.

While the work taking place is very much everyday work for our RPU officers, the project sees the department intensify resources to target those who are driving at excess speed, drink/drug driving, using a phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt or driving in a careless or dangerous manner.

Officers arrested the man in his 30s on the A350 in Hampton Park shortly after 8am due to a strong smell of cannabis emanating from the vehicle. He has since been released under investigation while enquiries are ongoing.

As well as the arrest, 14 Traffic Offence Reports were issued for offences including defective tyres and mobile phone use, and 11 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued for various offences including failure to wear a seat belt.

Speed checks were also carried out at 12 locations the community had raised concerns about.

A/Insp Will Ayres said: “During these speed checks, speed enforcement caught 97 drivers speeding. Roads were clearly signposted with 30mph speed limits and were all in regular use by pedestrians. One driver was caught reaching speeds of 52mph. This is completely unacceptable and the work we are doing is important in educating drivers about the importance of driving within the speed limit in a bid to keep our roads as safe as possible.”

RPU officers later attended a serious collision in Royal Wootton Bassett High Street.