The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is urging the new government to “increase its efforts in promoting road safety” by giving targeted enforcement a higher priority.
The IAM says UK road casualty figures for 2014 are “shaping up to show an increase in deaths and injuries”, and to counter this the charity believes the new government “must make road traffic policing a core priority function” for police forces and commissioners in England and Wales.
In a survey conducted by the IAM in April 2015, more than 45% of the 2,700 respondents wanted an increase in the number of police officers in marked vehicles to enforce traffic laws.
Top offences that respondents want to see the police tackle include mobile phone use at the wheel (72%), drink and drug-driving (65%), aggressive and angry drivers (50%) and tailgating (42%).
64% of respondents want more traffic police on all major urban roads; and 44% supported new consultation “to reflect the growing support for a lower limit”.
Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “The government cannot afford to be complacent about road safety and a lot more needs to be done to address major road offences through the enforcement of existing legislation and full use of police powers.
“The IAM supports an increase in the number of high profile road policing officers and a zero tolerance approach to the enforcement of traffic laws.”
Words of advice are excellent Idris and are to be encouraged and indeed many more words of advice should have been offered by the Police rather than them simply doling out punishments. Once the Government realised that the punishment task could be inexpensively automated what further need was there for a ‘word to the wise’ from a local copper to a driver that wasn’t quite up to scratch? By encouraging automated punishment the Police brought about the conditions for the reduction in their number in a perfect example of being careful what you wish for.
Not sure where Olly is getting his data from, but sadly by far the biggest killer out on the roads is the perfectly compliant, non-speeding driver. It is true that there are some baddies out there that get involved in some really nasty accidents, but they should not detract from identifying the real villain of the piece.
Duncan MacKillop. No surprise – No accident.
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In my experience most fatal collisions involve criminality, many of them in single vehicle collisions where the driver is at fault, drink, drugs, speeding (above limit or inappropriate for conditions) or a combination. More patrols of trained professional traffic police officers could tackle more offences with the ANPR tech for d/licence/insurance offences (which feature in growing numbers of fatals). There is no substitite for a Mk1 ‘coppers’eye’ for spotting the other offences that technology can’t catch.
Olly, Lancs
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First time, I think, that I disagree, to an extent, with Duncan, on this narrow point. Not all driving that is less good than it should be actually amounts to breaking the law, so in principle it should be possible for police patrols to stop relevant drivers to give them words of advice rather than tickets. And for once I agree with the IAM.
Idris Francis Fight Back With Facts Petersfield
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By far the biggest killer on our roads is the fully compliant, non-speeding driver. How will these proposed extra Police affect the casualty figures when the people having the accidents aren’t breaking the law?
Duncan MacKillop. No surprise – No accident.
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Have you noticed that over the last 30 years law and order doesn’t exist when it come to an election. Funny that?
No Government is going to admit that we need another 15 to 25.000 officers. It would be an admission of a failure on their part to maintain law and order. However even with the plastic bobbies that now walk our streets, some 16000 of them, it would be a good time, if not now, soon, to recruit new officers as their establishments have been somewhat decimated by the current economical climate.
It appears the chief police officers have some £1.85 billion of savings that they are currently sitting on. Public monies. Add that to the billions that local authorities are also holding in coffers. Somewhere earning interest. Amounts which would see that £1.85 billion as small change and peanuts and there is no actual shortage of monies at all.
Police and the deterrent of law, though not welcomed by some, I am sure still has to have its place in controlling those wrong doers who would put other lives at risk.
Bob Craven Lancs…Space is Safe Campaigner
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