The police in North Rhine-Westphalia are carrying out targeted checks on trucks and buses on freeways throughout the state. The checks are part of the Ministry of the Interior's new "specialist traffic strategy".

An important aim of the guideline, which has been in force since the end of 2018, is to reduce the number of accidents involving trucks at the end of traffic jams. In 2018 alone, 206 such truck crashes were registered in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Many of these accidents are caused by driver error. According to the latest traffic accident statistics, the most common causes of accidents involving HGVs are tailgating, fatigue and distraction. This is why the police in North Rhine-Westphalia are stepping up their enforcement efforts.

As part of the nationwide enforcement campaign "sicher.mobil.leben - Brummis im Blick" ("live.mobile.safely - Trucks at a glance") on September 12, 2019, more than 900 police officers, reinforced by BAG, customs and the federal police, were deployed at over 190 checkpoints in North Rhine-Westphalia. This day of action makes it clear that the police in North Rhine-Westphalia will continue to take consistent and targeted action against traffic violations with large-scale checks.