White van drivers are being urged to consider road safety

Speeding drivers, those who do not wear seatbelts and those who carry passengers unsafely are being targeted.

About a fifth of all crashes involving vans result in death or serious injury, according to statistics.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpos) said too many van drivers were ignoring safety warnings.

Officers across Scotland are set to mount high-visibility patrols from Friday.

Recent statistics show that one in five crashes involving a van resulted in death or serious injury John Vine Acpos

They will be looking out for hatchback-style vehicles and Transit-style vans which have "three people in the front not wearing seatbelts".

John Vine, chief constable of Tayside Police and chairman of the Acpos road policing business area, said van drivers should take heed.

"We are focusing our attention on van drivers and their passengers because experience tells us that a significant number of them are not wearing seatbelts within vehicles that are being driven at illegal speeds," he said.

"They may not be unique in this regard, but we are sufficiently concerned for their safety and for the well-being of other road users to undertake this tailored enforcement activity.

'Driving incentive'

"Recent statistics show that one in five crashes involving a van resulted in death or serious injury.

"This fact alone should be incentive enough for van drivers and their passengers to make absolutely certain that they are not breaking the law and are taking all relevant safety advice on board."

Figures from the Scottish Executive show that between 2000 and 2004 there were an average of 908 crashes each year involving light goods vehicles.

Of those, an average of 184 resulted in death or serious injury.

The phrase "white van man" was coined in the 1990s to describe aggressive and dangerous van drivers with poor road manners.

There are an estimated three million vans on the UK's roads.