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POLICE patrols are being stepped up on a section of the M6 where three people died in three days.
Checks on lorries and vans using the motorway are being increased to cut accidents.
A vehicle checking depot — the first of its kind in the country — was officially opened yesterday at the Highways Agency’s Sandbach base.
It comes after two men were killed on the motorway last Thursday, when they were hit by a lorry on the hard shoulder near Junction 17.
And 10-year-old Akbar Hussain, died on Saturday after an accident between Sandbach Services and Junction 16.
Cheshire Police and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) have invested £450,000 in the centre, located between Junctions 16 and 17, which will be used to check drivers, store vehicles and fine motorists.
The depot, which includes offices, a vehicle weigh bridge and facilities for taking payment of on-the-spot fines, is available for police and VOSA officers to use 24 hours a day.
Vehicles can be directed there from the motorway for checks on any defects and weight, and computer software can check if drivers are observing their permitted hours.
Inspector Liz Cunningham, from Cheshire Police, said: "The aim of the facility is to improve road safety by ensuring road traffic legislation is being adhered to by commercial vehicles.
"All too often we have to deal with the tragic consequences of poorly maintained vehicles and fatigued or inattentive drivers.
"We can also look at immigration offences in terms of people concealed in vehicles, vehicles evading fuel duty, and enforcement of alcohol and drug driving.
"We don’t want to target the average person and interrupt their journey if they are adhering to the laws, but we will do all we can to reduce the number of collisions.
"Having this centre means we can work with VOSA and the Highways Agency to tackle offences from a complete perspective. "
Prior to its opening, the depot was used on a trial basis for 12 months.
During that time, Cheshire Police issued 500 fixed penalty notices, banned 372 vehicles from the road, seized 46 vehicles and arrested 14 drivers. Offences include drink-driving, breaches of licence and insurance and fraud.
Over a two month period, VOSA officers stopped 904 vehicles and detected almost 600 offences including excess driving hours, overloading and mechanical failings.
David Stones, who is responsible for incident prevention initiatives at the Highways Agency, said: "This is the first model we’ve adopted nationally where we are working in partnership with VOSA and the police in one location.
“Our priority is to further improve road safety on the road network by cutting fatalities, injuries and incidents, which will in turn reduce congestion and disruption for our customers.”
Yesterday’s launch was attended by North West Traffic Commissioner Beverley Bell. She said: “This is an excellent example of agencies working together to target those lorry, bus and coach operators who are prepared to put profit above road safety and fair competition.”