NEWS that police officers in Blackwood were undertaking a special traffic operation ahead of the Christmas period was one of our most talked-about stories in the past week.

Operation Rea focuses on the so-called "fatal five" traffic offences: driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving while using a mobile phone, speeding, careless driving, and not wearing a seatbelt.

Here's what some of our online readers had to say about the matter.

Can they add dark-coloured cars whose dimwit drivers like driving around in the gloom with no lights onto their list and, at the opposite end of the spectrum, dimwits who make their cars look pretty in the rain with their foglamps blazing right in the eyes of oncoming drivers?

davidcp

The amount of people I see driving everyday who are on their phones or looking into their laps texting!

riverebbw

The police should spend some quality time patrolling the Coldra to High Cross section of M4. They'd have a field day with at least 4 of the 5 issues raised.

St3v3y

Oh good – the police are going to be doing what they are paid to do. Priceless!

silentobserver

How nice to see that, for the three weeks leading up to Christmas, the police are going to be doing what they should have been doing for the other 49 weeks of the year.

Nanker Phledge

Perhaps if austerity was truly reversed and we recruited way more actual police officers, then they could do this sort of thing all year round along with the other things that they used to do routinely. It is not the fault of our police force, yes it is a bit of a show pony thing, but that is all that can be done when your limited resources are needed for the real serious stuff. Also with all the tread carefully stuff, like stop and search being treated as an evil act when it is not – it saves lives! Then there is all the paperwork to justify their actions. The police need more discretion and more support and resources.

Just an opinion.