Bad driving

Traffic police and other enforcement agencies

By Cherry Allan on 3 April 2013

More effective traffic policing is crucial for cyclists, and also helps tackle one of the biggest fears that many others have about taking up cycling in the first place - namely, bad driving...

Headline Messages:

In the interests of road safety and traffic law enforcement, there should be more traffic police, well designed incident reporting systems and the commitment to investigate all collisions thoroughly, particularly those involving non-motorised users.
The Health and Safety Executive and other enforcement agencies with road safety responsibilities should prioritise these more highly and be adequately resourced to do so.

CTC View (formal statement of CTC's policy):

Investing in roads policing is highly effective, not only for promoting road safety, but also in tackling other forms of crime. It should be prioritised by national government and included in all overarching policing strategies and plans (e.g. the Strategic Priority Requirement in England and Wales). This would strengthen the case for individual police forces throughout the UK and Police and Crime Commissioners (England and Wales) to give it the priority it deserves.
Police and Crime Commissioners and local authority crime reduction/safety partnerships must prioritise speeding, dangerous driving and other road traffic offences as key issues to address.
The police should always refer serious injury collisions up to the prosecution service for a charging decision, not just those that result in a fatality. If they do not charge or decide not to refer the case, the police should be required to explain their decision systematically.
The police should be trained so that they understand the practical and legal issues facing cyclists and other non-motorised users.
Wherever possible, the police should respond to any reported collision involving a cyclist or pedestrian by:
- Attending the scene, taking statements and gathering evidence from witnesses
- Investigating incidents that result in severe injury as thoroughly as those that result in death - ACPO’s Road Death Investigation Manual should cover serious as well as fatal injuries and be renamed The Road Crash Investigation Manual.
- Investigating reports of seriously bad or aggressive driving even when no injury occurs and allocating sufficient resources to do so – after all, such drivers are often involved in other criminal activity
- Investigating and where possible charging motorists who fail to stop with ‘leaving the scene of the accident’.
The police should facilitate collision and ‘near miss’ reporting (e.g. via online systems).
The victims of road crashes involving unlawful driving should be entitled to the same support services that other victims of crime receive.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) should take a more proactive line over work-related road safety and should receive adequate funds to do so.

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Traffic policing and other enforcement agencies

Publication Date:

April 2013

Call for justice review comes just as Crown Prosecution Guidance consults

By Chris Peck on 19 October 2012

This week British Cycling increased pressure on the Government to review the way criminal justice treats road crash victims, securing an agreement to meet and discuss the issue. Meanwhile the Crown Prosecution Service are consulting on their guidance for prosecuting bad driving.

British Cycling have stepped up their campaign for a review of traffic justice, following high profile cases of injustice earlier this year. CTC joined in the campaign urging MPs to sign up to an Early Day Motion (EDM) demanding a review of road traffic justice.

Careless driving fixed penalty welcomed

By Chris Peck on 14 June 2012

14 June 2012

CTC welcomes the proposed fixed penalty notice for careless driving and the associated 50% increase in all motoring fixed penalties to £90, but urges that dangerous driving still needs to be dealt with by the courts.

More traffic police are needed to make best use of the new FPN

The idea of a 'careless driving' fixed penalty notice (FPN) isn't new - the previous Government mentioned it in a consultation in 2008 and last year the Government's Strategic Framework for Road Safety introduced the idea formally into policy. Now they are consulting on how best to introduce the FPN, with the intention to divert many of the drivers who receive the penalty onto 'better driving courses', a practice already common with speeding.

Dangerous driving

By Cherry Allan on 14 March 2012

While dangerous driving is a serious issue for all road users, concerns about the hazard it poses put people off cycling in particular. This is the case even though the health benefits of cycling far outweigh the risks.

Headline Messages:

Most people would regard 'dangerous' driving as something they witness time and time again, but in practice, the annual number of convictions for this charge is comparatively low.
To prove dangerous driving in law, the standard must fall “far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver”, and it should “be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in that way would be dangerous”. This is often very difficult to prove.
This means that 'careless', rather than 'dangerous' driving ends up being used to catch those offences that fall short of the “far below” definition. As a result, 'dangerous' driving - i.e. driving that causes danger, regardless of whether it was unintentional or otherwise - is often not recognised in law for what it is.
CTC is preparing briefings on how we think the legal situation should be changed to address this.

CTC View (formal statement of CTC's policy):

Penalising bad driving offences effectively by reforming the legal framework, would help create a safer and more attractive environment for cycling and walking.

Publication Date:

March 2012

Bad driving

Traffic police and other enforcement agencies

Call for justice review comes just as Crown Prosecution Guidance consults

Careless driving fixed penalty welcomed

Dangerous driving

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