Police in Devon and Cornwall have launched a special operation to catch truck drivers breaking driving hours, tachograph and hazardous cargo rules.
Operation Fatigue is aimed at cutting road casualties, because, the Devon and Cornwall Police argue, although HGVs account for only 3% of traffic in Devon, they are involved in 9% of fatal collisions.
The same is true in serious injury collisions, where HGVs accounted for 6% of accidents on motorways and 11% on trunk roads.
A police statement says that one problem is that hauliers are sometimes prepared to compromise on safety in order to save money.
The statement continues: "Since the haulage industry is subject to tight margins and is a very competitive environment, the temptation to breach these regulations in order to increase profits is great."
Similarly, the police argue that in order to save money, hauliers are sometimes tempted to use drivers without special training to drive hazardous cargoes, for example.
The police force is dedicating 10 officers to Operation Fatigue, which has been planned with a number of other agencies, including VOSA and the National Plant and Equipment Register (TER).
Passenger carrying vehicles will also be included in the campaign.