Britain needs a road accident investigation body to work alongside rail, air and marine inquiry teams, according to the RAC Foundation.
The research organisation says lessons are not being learned from the deaths on Britain’s roads. It wants road accident investigators to find out why collisions have happened rather than who was to blame.
Around 45 people a year are killed in air, train or marine accidents, but in 2008 more than 2,900 died on the roads. When there is an air crash, train crash, or tragedy at sea, specialist investigators are called in to find the causes. Traffic collision investigations are currently the job of the police, but they gather evidence to bring convictions, not to explain events.
The RAC Foundation’s report makes no criticism of the police service. Its author, Dr Chris Elliot, says someone should be taking a wider look at the causes – both direct and contributory.
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