Kirklees Police and the West Yorkshire Roads Policing Unit have announced that 101 drivers were prosecuted in less than four weeks as part of intensified road-safety operations in July. The activity, carried out under Operation Trimburg, focused on known local hotspots and aimed to tackle the behaviours that most commonly lead to serious collisions.
Where officers concentrated patrols
Patrols — both fixed and mobile — were deployed from 2 July onwards in a number of towns across the borough. Communities targeted included Dewsbury, Mirfield, Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, Liversedge, Gomersal and the Holme Valley, with specific operations recorded in Meltham and multiple visits to Mirfield.
Police say much of the activity followed information provided by local residents, and that further enforcement is planned.
Offences detected
Officers reported a range of offences during the month-long drive. The most frequent single issue was not wearing a seatbelt; action was taken against 43 drivers for this breach. Other recorded outcomes included:
- 5 prosecutions for driving without due care and attention
- 15 drivers found driving without a valid MOT
- 6 motorists stopped for using a mobile phone while driving
- Instances of drug misuse, speeding, driving without insurance and vehicle defects
- Several vehicles seized for document offences
Given the variety of offences detected, officers stressed that the operation targeted the so-called Fatal 5 — failure to wear a seatbelt, drink or drug driving, using a mobile phone, speeding and careless driving — which are identified as key causes of serious and fatal incidents on local roads.
“Operation Trimburg was established to provide a dedicated and long term response to residents’ concerns about poor driving in parts of Kirklees,” Inspector Liz Lockwood of the Dewsbury and Mirfield Neighbourhood Policing Team said.
The force reiterated its commitment to the wider road-safety ambition known as Vision Zero, a partnership aim with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and other agencies to eliminate road deaths and serious injuries while promoting safer, more equitable mobility across the county.
What this means for residents
For local people, the operation highlights two practical points: first, that targeted enforcement is being directed to areas where concerns have been raised; and second, that simple safety measures — wearing a seatbelt, avoiding mobile phones and keeping vehicles roadworthy — remain the most effective ways of reducing harm on the roads.
| Offence | Number recorded |
|---|---|
| Prosecutions (total) | 101 |
| Not wearing seatbelt | 43 |
| Driving without due care | 5 |
| No MOT | 15 |
| Mobile phone use | 6 |
Police say patrols will continue and urged anyone concerned about dangerous driving in their neighbourhood to make their concerns known to local officers so targeted action can be considered. The force has stressed that these operations form part of a long-term approach to reducing serious road trauma across Kirklees.
