The officers need a truck licence to operate an HGV ‘supercab’, which is used on the road to help identify truck drivers who may be breaching road safety regulations.
One of three trucks funded by Highways England and loaned to police forces across the country, the supercab has wide-angle cameras and a derestricted speed limiter. CMPG uses the plain white cab to patrol the region’s key motorway routes.
CPMG needed to boost the number of officers holding an HGV driver qualification, and Ryder stepped in with academy manager Graham Bethell (pictured, left) leading the officer training.
Craig Kirwan, motorway patrol officer at CMPG, says: “Graham was excellent in his approach to teaching. He understood we are all police advanced drivers and tailored the training so that we had maximum time on the road in the training truck.”
He adds: “The officers and I all have a much better appreciation for truck drivers now because we understand what it takes to drive an HGV to a high standard. The training was spot on.”
