Case Study:
Operation Tramline
Overview of the approach
One safety initiative which developed out of the need
to provide an effective deterrent to a hard-to-reach
group is Operation Tramline. This approach uses three
unmarked HGV lorry cabs (supplied by Highways
England) to allow roads policing officers to see into the
cabs of HGVs, and to record offences via video cameras.
The recorded offences are then used to support officers
in their subsequent interaction with offenders at the
roadside, where the action leads to prosecution or
education. Without this raised viewpoint, HGV drivers
were, effectively, immune from most enforcement
efforts. The officers in the cabs are not restricted to
identifying offending behaviour by HGV drivers, but
Tramline gives officers the ability to police that group of
drivers alongside other drivers on the Strategic Road
Network (SRN).
The three cabs are borrowed by forces who then use
them as they wish to patrol the SRN and to respond to
instances of distracted driving, including mobile phone
use.
If you are employed by a force that is interested in
using the Tramline cabs, contact
Incident.Prevention@highwaysengland.co.uk for
more information.
Mobile:Engaged contribution
Knowledge exchange
As part of the Mobile:Engaged project we met both the people responsible for Operation Tramline at the centre
(within Highways England), and some local RPU officers who were engaged with using Tramline at a local level.
Our suggestions are therefore based on both conversations, and this approach gave us an opportunity to have
input on the broader policy and the specific issues associated with police use.
A visible deterrent
The Tramline cabs are designed to be used overtly to act as a deterrent, and their use (and the reason for their
use) is therefore promoted by Highways England. This approach is, first and foremost, a safety initiative and is
widely publicised. Highways England encourage forces to use the cabs for engagement and awareness events
whenever they are not in use operationally. Some aspects of media coverage have tried to imply that the cabs
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