An article in the Telegraph suggests that government plans to introduce fixed penalty notices for aggressive and careless drivers are compromised by figures showing that the number of dedicated roads police officers has fallen by nearly 23% in five years.
The Telegraph says that while there will be plenty of officers in urban areas, extending the crackdown to motorways and trunk roads – where middle lane hogging is an issue – could prove more difficult when the new measures come into force next month.
The Road Haulage Association has also voiced doubts, and a spokesman said: “There are concerns among the public and professional motoring organisations about who is actually left to enforce the new restrictions, following the drastic reduction in roads policing officers.”
An AA spokesman said: “There will be targeted blitzes, particularly on stretches of road where there is a perceived problem of people tailgating or using hand-held mobile phones. You can get a short sharp shock, but then you get back to normal levels of policing.”
A spokesman for the DfT denied the proposals would be ineffective, saying: “These changes are being introduced following extensive consultation with police forces. It is for individual police forces to decide how they allocate their resources between roads policing and other areas.
“The fixed penalty is about providing police with a more efficient and flexible means of dealing with less serious cases of careless driving, that fall below the threshold of court action.”
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Given the minimal overall training PCSOs seem to receive, perhaps Hugh could tell us how competent and well trained they are to “educate” us about our driving? And given that almost every driver believes him or herself to be “well above average” what the ensuing fracas might be called – “road rage” or merely “punch-up”?
Idris Francis Fight Back With Facts Petersfield
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I need to respond and say yes Hugh I do mean PCSOs and I think that what I said still stands and many more agree that 25,000 fully active police officers would be of more value than 25,000 PCSOs. And be better value for money. They would have a greater effect on road safety by their mere presence and prosecuting offenders against the laws of this land.
I remember when the only persons doing cycle training were police road safety officers and those that are old enough to remember them, they did a good job and it benefited the community as a whole.
bob craven Lancs
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Bob: I presume you’re referring to the PCSOs, in which case I can assure you that certainly in the area I used to work, they played an active and very welcome role in traffic law enforcement/driver education – not necessarily with the powers to prosecute – but that wasn’t the objective. It was driving (sorry for pun)the message home and preventing accidents that mattered.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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A very valuable contribution to road safety is missing and that is the enforcement element. There is little point to my mind of having 16,000 civilian community officers and lacking 25,000 actual police officers. Many traffic patrol officers decided upon retirement rather than do other jobs within the service and so were let go. If there is little to no chance of being prosecuted, what’s the point of having safety laws?
bob craven Lancs
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I presume the mobile speed camera vans could film these offences and deal with them ‘through the post’ using NIPs, as they do now for speeding offences. If they publicised this use of the vans, they would become more accepted I would imagine.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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Delighted to agree for once with Kevin Delaney – if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. It’s no good wishing the ends without providing the means, and the blunt truth is that there is no prospect of our being able to provide the means for the forseeable future. Short, sharp shock? Now where have I head that before – and what did it achieve? Nothing whatever, if I recall correctly.
Idris Francis Fight Back With Facts Petersfield
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