Operation Considerate puts a stop to driving offences in South Manchester

Officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Safer Transport Team were in the Gorton area of South Manchester last Friday morning (24 November 2023) carrying out Operation Considerate.

Operation Considerate is GMP’s dedicated policing operation that aims to detect a range of driving offences, prosecute individuals where necessary and raise awareness of how we can all be safer on the roads.

The operation began early morning and stopped 83 motorists for various offences; these included vehicle defects, driving without insurance, the not wearing of seatbelts, using a mobile phone, having illegal number plates and more.

Three arrests were also made on suspicion of driving whilst under the influence of drugs and one also on suspicion of driving whilst disqualified. 

Operation Considerate also involved partners from Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency who work closely with GMP to assess whether vehicles are safe to be on the roads.

There was also a speed enforcement operation in place which detected a number of drivers breaching the speed limit.

Chief Inspector Michael Parker of GMP's Safer Transport Team said: “Many of the offences identified today could be considered quite minor – for example not wearing seatbelts, using a mobile phone whilst driving or not sticking to the speed limit.

“I want to remind the public however that an accident can happen in a split second and this operation seeks to raise awareness of the little things we can all do to help make ourselves and others safer.

“Enforcement and prosecution are important tactics we can use to help make the roads a safer place, but today is also about educating as many people as possible.

“A minor road traffic offence can often lead to a serious collision but there are some really simple things you can do to reduce the likelihood of being involved in a collision - such as taking your time, sticking to the speed limit, putting your mobile phone away and of course always wearing a seatbelt.

“These are the leading causes of accidents and driving responsibly could greatly reduce the number of incidents we have on the road.

“Operation Considerate runs all year in Manchester alongside other operations and in the run-up to Christmas, the Safer Transport Team will be increasing its to ensure the roads in Manchester are as safe as possible. To members of the public, I would encourage you to do your bit by staying safe, being alert to your surroundings and reporting any incidents of dangerous driving to police using our online Operation Considerate portal."

You can make a report here: Report a road traffic incident | Greater Manchester Police (gmp.police.uk)