Monthly Archives: March 2013

Young Drivers and Road Safety – The long and winding road

After a lifetime of promoting safe riding/driving, enforcement of traffic related legislation and unfortunately, dealing with the aftermath and human tragedy of road collisions, I have more than a passing interest in road safety matters…

There is a long history of road safety education and publicity campaigns in Great Britain (see here) but, despite the best efforts of those road safety professionals and organisations, attempting to supplement government action/inaction on the subject, there are still far too many people killed and seriously injured on our roads

We may not suffer the KSI levels experienced by some of our European counterparts (see here) but even the current government’s policy - Making Roads Safer – acknowledges the fact that, despite the UK having one of the best road safety records in the world; more can be done to prevent deaths and serious injuries.

This week the British media reported that “young drivers could face a curfew as part of government efforts to prevent accidents” and reduce “sky-high” insurance premiums (BBC News).

It is alarming that a fifth of people killed or seriously injured on our roads in 2011 were involved in a collision where at least one driver was aged 17 to 24… Improving the safety of our young drivers is therefore a real priority…(Patrick McLoughlin MP – Transport Secretary)

Responding to the above news, The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) expectedly delivered an opinion on the matter (see here). The IAM director of policy and research Neil Greig welcomed the Green Paper saying it was; “a once in a generation opportunity to help new drivers survive the crucial first six months of driving.”

Each day, nearly 3,500 people die on the roads. Tens of thousands more are injured. Families are broken apart. The futures of young people are dashed. Road accidents have become the leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 29…(European Youth Forum for Road Safety)

There may have been 100,000 lives saved during last 10 years as a direct/indirect result of European Commission action on road safety however; as the EYFRS have said “this is an unacceptable price to pay for mobility” and I would say now is not the time to be complacent. I don’t expect many would disagree with that.

As a driver foremost but also as a member of the IAM, I agree that many of the Young Driver KSI problem surround the need for ”a system that embeds continuous learning for all new drivers.”

When we all first learn to drive we’re actually learning how to pass the driving test, but there’s so much more that you can achieve in your car…(IAM)

Basic driving skills can actually be learned in a relatively short period of time, you can be taught how to pass your driving test however; the necessary skills required for continued safe driving after that basic training are ongoing life-skills.

Australia…

USA…

As the above video clips show, the United Kingdom is not alone with acknowledging there is a massive problem with our young (and/or newly qualified) drivers being injured and killed on the road. Who (if any of us) will end up being succesful in addressing or eradicating the problem still remains to be seen.

The Government’s THINK! campaign which provides road safety information for road users, along with resources for road safety professionals, aims to; ”encourage safer behaviour to reduce the number of people killed and injured on our roads every year.”

The human and social costs of road accidents are immeasurable, and with the price of each fatal casualty on the road estimated to be £1.7 million, it makes no financial sense to cut campaigns…(Dr Alistair Cheyne OBE – IAM Chairman)

At the risk of using business-speak which I abhor; this particular problem (and road safety in general) requires a totally holistic approach to treat the causation factors behind collisions. Vehicles may now be more inherently safe than ever before however; any sustainable improvement in road safety also involves dealing with the human factor. One which will always require a combination of education, practical training, assessment and enforcement action when applicable.

That said, with all the government austerity measures, many public agencies and local authorities are now facing reduced funding. With the expectation of even further cuts probably just over the horizon, there are severe implications for the future of proactive road safety initiatives.

The 20% cuts to police budgets over the next four years will also have a profound impact upon the availability of police resources. The officers once engaged in road safety, the enforcement of traffic legislation, road collision investigation and the influencing of driver behaviour are already in almost terminal decline.

With an 80% reduction of funding for road safety campaigning (in real terms) over recent years, many motoring organisations like the RAC and the IAM, along with Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents have condemned government plans and are worried for the future. Road safety may be public safety function but it’s not one immune to the HM Treasury axe.

This reduction of road safety resources has compounded the poor safety legacy of an inadequately and poorly maintained road network, an infrastructure which has not received the investment it once enjoyed for many years now. Even the The Road Safety Observatory, which provides independent research and information for anyone working in road safety, shows a cover image depicting a long and winding road.

There are those that argue our older drivers are just as much of a problem to road safety. They use the adage of the elderly driver talking to a young driver who says; “I’ve been driving for fifty years and never had an accident” to which the listener replies; “ok, but I’m sure you’ve caused hundreds” but that’s another story for another day.

Without some tangible reversal of policy, and a little increased funding for the future which is highly unlikely, things don’t look very good for road safety improvements any time soon - despite all the government PR and rhetoric!

More Road Safety campaign clips…

New drivers may face night-time curfew (guardian.co.uk)
L-drivers face ‘minimum learning period’ in radical overhaul of driving test rules (independent.co.uk)
Young drivers ‘could face curfew’ (bbc.co.uk)
Young drivers ‘could have to take motorway lessons’ (telegraph.co.uk)

Posted in Education System, Emergency Services, Government, Local Authorities, Our Society, Police, Roads Safety

British Policing: The fallout from #Bettison

Mar 29

Posted by Dave Hasney

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) says it “finds a case to answer for gross misconduct” against the former West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison - sad for him but even sadder for British policing…

IPCC Media Release: …This case should also serve as a salutary reminder to chief officers everywhere of how much public confidence in policing is damaged when the conduct of leaders is called into question…(ipcc.gov.uk)

The impacts for the ‘offender’ may be limited, at least in punitive terms, now he has retired from policing but there are bigger issues involved here. Save from Bettison’s monumental fall from grace, after what was previously a distinguished career, his actions will also have ramifications for policing as a whole.

The result of the investigation may (thankfully) go someway towards placating the angst of Hillsborough Disaster families, members of the public who have been looking for answers for a lifetime but as always with cases like this one, there is also a greater impact upon our society.

Bettison, like any other public servant not least a high-ranking one, carried a great deal of responsibility on his shoulders during his career. This, responsibility was not simply for the operational and management decisions in policing but also, the maintenance and furtherance of public support for that role in our society.

The Bettison case is not just a sad end to what was supposed to have been a long and distinguished career; it’s yet another nail in the coffin of the British concept of policing by consent. Public support for that process is often based upon perception rather than fact. Views and opinions that are formed from a combination of political rhetoric, journalistic interpratation, contrived public relations activities and the personal performance of individuals.

Every person who dons that uniform (of whatever rank) must remember; they are not just a police officer but also an ambassador for the policing process. Their performance and interactions with others will always form the basis of how policing is perceived and judged by the public – a fact that many self-serving, self-promoting police officers would do well to remember!

Why is Bettison being investigated over Hillsborough? (itv.com)
IPCC report on Bettison claims due (bbc.co.uk)
Gross misconduct: The case against Hillsborough police chief Norman Bettison (yorkshirepost.co.uk)
Norman Bettison ‘has case to answer’ over Hillsborough report response (guardian.co.uk)
Sir Norman Bettison ‘would have been sacked’ had he not quit (thetimes.co.uk)

Posted in Media Watch, Police, Yorkshire

British Policing: Another (Avoidable?) UKcop #FAIL

Mar 28

Posted by Dave Hasney

Many from within the ranks of British policing constantly bemoan the apparent decline in public support for the job they do however; as I’ve written before, policing is often the engineer of its own demise…

The photograph on the right, which is an example in point, is currently circulating via social media. The posting was aimed at Hampshire Constabulary in this instance and was annotated with the following message…

“Could you kindly explain your officers reasoning for parking illegally over the disabled bay? I happen to know that they were getting a takeaway so had no reason to park in this way! I fully expect a public apology as to why our tax money is being spent employing officers who do what they want because they drive a blue and yellow car! No wonder the police get a bad name when your officers have such a blatant disregard for the law themselves. This photo was taken tonight 23/03/2013 at Hedge End McDonald’s.”

It was posted to Facebook by someone called Chris The-Stig Burrows. The ‘abandonment’ (aka parking) of the patrol car (see location on Google Maps) may not have actually inconvenienced anyone on this occasion but that isn’t the point. The poster has raised a valid and pertinent issue here, being a police officer does not mean – Do as I say not as I do!

A message on the Hampshire Constabulary Facebook page read: ‘We’d like to reassure you though that on this occasion the officer in question was responding to an emergency – and was not in a hurry for a McFlurry.’ (Metro News)

In the few days since posting, no doubt aided by additional local media interest, the picture has been quickly circulated far and wide. At the time I saw it there were 9,365 ‘shares’ 13,607 ‘comments’ and 68,710 people had ‘liked’ the picture. To be fair a good deal of the comments I read were actually broadly supportive of the police however; a great deal were not and it is those which are damaging. Irrespective of the juvenile, puerile or inane nature of many, disparaging comments about policing, justified or not, ultimately produce a knock-on effect and mostly negative impact on public perception of policing.

The ‘official’ police comment to the posting suggested that the occupants of the police vehicle were responding to a disturbance complaint at McDonald’s, not buying a take-away. Whatever the true facts of the story, the fallout from the picture and the subsequent derogatory comments about the police could (possibly) have been avoided.

It frustrates me when I see examples of police officers who clearly aren’t striving to be above reproach. How can they enjoy any respect from a public who, rightly or wrongly in these circumstances, perceive there is one law for them and one for the police?

With the advances in smart-phone technology and everyone’s ability to rapidly circulate images and opinion via social media; you would think that police officers would be even more aware and savvy about how the public observe them. Even more than was the case in my day - Perhaps not?

Perhaps some police officers, in extremely limited numbers I would suspect, don’t actually care about public opinion or how they are perceived by those they are responsible for serving? Perhaps they really do look upon the public with ‘us and them’ mentality and attitude today?

Could the picture have been simply mischievous? An action born out of a personal gripe or grievance from someone who has recently fallen foul of road traffic legislation and/or enforcement? Especially as the author’s choice of nickname suggests; he believes himself to be reminiscent of a motoring icon with immense driving ability.

Many of those commenting on the picture don’t actually know all the facts, me included but sadly and in many ways, the damage has already been done. Incidents such as this, no matter how minor or silly, all actually help to bolster support for government ’attacks’ on policing.