DRIVERS travelling bet-ween York and Harrogate are being warned to make sure that their vehicles are in tip-top shape - or face the consequences.

North Yorkshire Traffic Police and members of the Vehicle Inspectorate Team are carrying out a two-week campaign of speed and safety checks on the A59.

The, campaign, dubbed Operation Carpet, involves the random-testing of cars, lorries and vans for defects.

Yesterday, 17 out of 27 vehicles checked were found to have faults ranging from worn tyres to oil leaks.

The operation is being combined with random speed checks on the road for which the speed limit is 60mph.

Police chiefs hope the campaign will help to make the road safer for motorists.

PC Sean Gray said: "This road has long been regarded as an accident black spot.

"There are a number of blackspots along this stretch, including Poppleton, Hessay and Whixley, which have all seen several accidents and casualties. Speed has been identified as a contributory factor.

"This campaign aims to ensure that vehicles which travel on this road are safe and that they observe the speed restrictions."

Traffic Sergeant Nigel Atkinson said: "We will be patrolling in both marked and unmarked cars and carrying out static checks.

"Our aim is to reduce the number of accidents on this stretch of road by tackling the three main causes: excessive speed, poor condition of vehicles and bad driving.

"By teaming up with the other agencies we can also tackle other issues and hopefully make the A59 a safer and crime-free stretch of road."

The campaign runs until September 16.

Updated: 11:41 Saturday, September 08, 2001