POLICE Federation leaders in the region has condemned a Government pledge to crack down on motorway tailgaters and middle-lane hoggers as a political stunt.

The chairmen of branches of the Police Federation in the North-East and North Yorkshire said introducing on-the-spot fines for careless driving offences that would currently have to go to court was unenforceable.

They said the region’s motorways had practically become police-free zones due to a lack of resources and restructuring within road policing groups.

The Department of Transport has announced from next month, police will be able to issue £100 fixed penalty fines for using a phone while driving or not wearing a seatbelt.

Although no official guidance on which types of driving will attract fines has been released, police are also expected to get powers to issue instant fixed penalty notices for not giving way at a junction, overtaking and pushing into a queue of traffic or using the wrong lane at a roundabout.

Drivers caught driving aggressively or carelessly often go unpunished due to the bureaucracy involved in prosecuting a case, which includes issuing a summons presenting evidence in court.

Transport minister Stephen Hammond said: "Careless drivers are a menace and their negligence puts innocent people's lives at risk.

"That is why we are making it easier for the police to tackle problem drivers by allowing them to immediately issue a fixed penalty notice rather than needing to take every offender to court."

The AA and the RAC said an increase in fines to tackle the "plague" of mobile phone use would be welcome, but Police Federation leaders in the region said their members were already facing intolerable pressures and had been told to focus on roads such as the A19 rather than motorways.

Federation leaders pointed towards a recent survey by road safety charity Brake, which found from 2007 to 2011 the number of traffic officers in Cleveland, Durham and North Yorkshire had fallen by 8.3 per cent, 9.2 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively.

Chairman of the Cleveland branch, Stephen Matthews, said: “I think this is complete and utter nonsense, all smoke and mirrors, as we have no resources to enforce it.

“How can people be stopped if there are no police to stop them? It is a question of priorities and neighbourhood policing seems to be the answer to everything.”

His North Yorkshire counterpart, Mark Botham, said while he welcomed anything which improves driver behaviour and road safety he was concerned “that we will not have the resources to implement yet another change announced by this government”.

Tim Shallcross, of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: ''For on-the-spot fines, you need on-the-spot policemen.''

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