A NEW police campaign targeting “One Eyed Monsters” will start on the Isle of Man next week, aimed at drivers with faulty lights on their cars.

Every winter the police annually stop hundreds of cars with headlight faults, and this year the campaign is to be stepped up to improve road safety for motorists.

“We have reached that time of year when the nights are drawing in and we all start to notice those ‘one eyed monsters’,” said Inspector Mark Britton from the Roads Policing Unit. 

Regular roadside police checks, in co-ordination with officials from the Department of Infrastructure, will begin from October 5th to begin the campaign which will be run in conjunction with support from the local media.

The campaign is called Operation Bright Lights with the objective of combatting poor standards of vehicles, chiefly aimed at headlights, but also looking at other possible faults. Vehicle inspectors from the DoI will be involved alongside the police officers at the roadside.

Meanwhile, the police are also continuing their crackdown on drivers who use mobile phones whilst driving with twelve drivers being fined £250 at a court in Douglas yesterday (Wednesday).

“I would continue to urge motorists to use safer options when it comes to the dangers created by using mobile phones while driving,” said Inspector Britton. “The ‘Kill your call – not someone else’ campaign was more hard-hitting than similar campaigns in recent years as police aim to emphasise that using mobiles while driving creates a significantly increased risk of having an accident.” 

Inspector Britton said that drivers should use hands-free kits if they need to take mobile phone messages whilst driving and warned that it is statistically 50% more likely to have a crash whilst using a mobile phone at the wheel.

“Being aware of the road ahead, rather than concentrating on a phone call, is clearly very important in regard to road safety. If drivers have to use their mobiles while driving they should use hands-free systems.”