The report 'Road Justice: the role of the police' examines the role of roads policing in keeping cyclists safe and ensuring irresponsible drivers are brought to justice.
In addition to PCCs, every police force, serious collision investigation unit and road safety partnership has also been sent the report. This is the first of three reports produced for the Road Justice campaign which analyse the roles of the police, prosecutors and courts in making our roads safe.
The reception was, on the whole a very positive one as PCC's took the time to find out more about 'Road Justice', be photographed as a record of the handover and hear the personal experiences of CTC members.
CTC launched the Road Justice campaign, which is sponsored by Slater & Gordon Lawyers, to urge the institutions that make up the justice system to put policies and practices in place which demonstrate that bad driving is taken seriously and actively discouraged.
The launch of the report follows recently released figures from the Department for Transport, showing cycle serious injuries and deaths are up 5% in 2012 against the previous year, whilst overall roads policing has been cut by 29% over the last decade.
CTC’s Road Justice Campaigner Rhia Weston said: “Time and again we hear stories of cyclists who have suffered life changing injuries in collisions with motor vehicles, but who have had to fight to get drivers brought to justice."
"It is vital that collision investigations are investigated thoroughly to ensure road crash victims get justice and to send out the message that bad driving will not be tolerated. We hope all Police and Crime Commissioners pledge to implement the report’s recommendations to improve roads policing and collision investigations.”
Victims' stories
The report contains 8 case studies of cyclists who suffered serious injuries. Their personal stories illustrate some of the all-too-common failings of roads policing in the aftermath of road collisions. These include: failure to attend a crash scene; automatically assuming an injured cyclist is at fault; failing to take timely witness statements; and failing to keep victims informed of case progress. Many more case studies, highlighting additional problems, are on the Road Justice website.”
It is vital that collision investigations are investigated thoroughly to ensure road crash victims get justice and to send out the message that bad driving will not be tolerated."
Rhia Weston
CTC's Road Safety Campaigner
One of the tragic stories in the report is Dan Black’s from Chepstow. Dan was left tri-plegic following a collision with a car driver in 2009. CTC believe the police spectacularly failed to deliver justice: their report made no mention of the driver’s illegal manoeuvre immediately before the collision, nor had they tested the driver’s eyesight at the crash scene, despite telling Dan’s parents they had done so.
Instead, they made out that Dan himself was at fault for having inadequate lighting, even though his bike lights were fully compliant with British standards. Their report also omitted any mention of Dan’s reflective clothing. This key piece of evidence had been cut off him at the crash scene by the paramedics, but was then disposed of by the hospital after the police failed to collect it. The case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service because it was deemed not to be ‘in the public interest’ and due to Dan’s ‘poor lighting’.
We've set up a petition on the Road Justice campaign website calling on police forces across England and Wales to pledge to implement the report's recommendations. Please sign the petition today.
The Road Justice campaign is funded by supporters, including Slater & Gordon Lawyers, and by individual donations from CTC members. Please donate to help keep the campaign running.
