Peter W Jones MInstP

Flawed Police Road Crash Investigations

I should have previously pointed out that in my experience I have found Police and other Road Traffic Accident Investigators very keen to continually upgrade their professional skills, even when they have been doing the job for many years. In addition, a small group of even harder working Investigators help to run the independent ITAI.

This is why I feel confident that the existing Investigators will rectify the faults identified by the RAC and possibly render the proposed additional Road Accident Investigation Authority unnecessary, particularly if the current investigators are reinforced by new members with additional qualifications as I have explained in my original post.

See also     www.20six.co.uk/roadtrafficaccidents

                      and      www.caravanaccidents3.wordpress.com 

As it has now become more difficult to locate the relevant RAC document I have copied same from their Foundation internet site and pasted it in below.

The following RAC press release of 14/05/09 was copied from their Foundation internet site with some difficulty.

DETAILS OF RAC REPORT

PROF GLAISTER’s CV AT END OF RAC REPORT

ROAD ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION

In the last eleven years 337 people have died in UK air accidents.
In the same period 114 have died in train accidents.
And 53 people have been killed in UK territorial waters or on UK registered vessels.
For each of these accidents there was provision for an exhaustive inquiry by the Air, Rail or Marine Accident Investigation Branches.
Yet astonishingly, when it comes to accidents on the nation’s roads – where almost 36,781 people died over the same span of time – there is no provision for a similar body to uncover what happened and then make safety recommendations to prevent the same type of thing reoccurring

Which means many of the deaths might have been avoided.
Today, to coincide with its publication of ‘Transport Safety: Is The Law An Ass?’ by Dr Chris Elliott, the RAC Foundation is calling for a fundamental review into the way road accidents are investigated.
The Foundation’s director Professor Stephen Glaister said, “Historically road accidents are analysed by individual police forces with the emphasis placed on finding out if anyone has broken the law. Identifying the underlying causes of crashes seems to be of secondary importance.”
“We’ve been locking up drivers for a century and yet motorists still die in their thousands on the roads each year. The focus on solely penalising individuals rather than also identifying systemic safety failings is a serious flaw in current transport policy. Road safety should be driven by prevention as well as punishment.”
Professor Glaister continued, “If a lorry smashes into a queue of stationary traffic killing several people attention is concentrated on why the driver failed to spot the obstacle ahead. Whilst this is important, perhaps the bigger questions are; why was the traffic at a standstill in the first place, and how can vehicles be kept moving in the future to avoid repetitions?”
Dr Elliott said, “In 1972 the groundbreaking Robens report revolutionised workplace safety and led to the creation of a coherent and rational legal structure that has saved hundreds of lives. It is time to have a similar root and branch review of the way transport safety policy is implemented and co-ordinated. We have to challenge the global trend towards
creation of a coherent and rational legal structure that has saved hundreds of lives. It is time to have a similar root and branch review of the way transport safety policy is implemented and co-ordinated. We have to challenge the global trend towards criminalising accidents and their investigation.”

Professor Stephen Glaister

CURRENT TEACHING

Transport Infrastructure Project Management (for MSc in Transport Studies)

Railway Policy, Management and Engineering (for MSc in Transport Studies)

Microeconomics (for MSc in Business Management)

Urban Infrastructure and Development (visiting lecture, Cities Programme, London

School of Economics)