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New police unit to cut Lancashire's road death toll
7:00pm Thursday 11th September 2008
A NEW police unit could be set up in a bid to slash the number of fatal road accidents on Lancashire’s roads.
The move would see £250,000 of extra cash to tackle the problem and has been devised to drive down the amount serious crashes and hit a Government target by 2010.
The plans come as three teenagers were killed in separate horror crashes over the past three weeks.
The main focus of the proposals is the creation of a centralised team of dedicated officers who would provide and co-ordinate a county-wide approach to road policing.
The four-strong team, comprising an inspector, a sergeant, a constable and an administration worker, will carry out intelligance-led work by studying the roads and analysing accident investigations.
They would then work with councils and other agencies to improve road structures and carry out educational programmes to get safety messages across.
Around £64,000 of the cash will be spent on putting officers through refresher advanced driver training courses.
A database detailing police officers' driving history will also be kept to maximise public safety, particularly during pursuit or emergency situations.
The plans first need to be approved by the police authority before being implemented.
Malcolm Doherty, chair of the Lancashire Police Authority, said: "This is a serious subject and we have to remember that when we are talking about road policing we are essentially taking about stopping people from dying.
"The strategy will make sure the approach is consistent across the county and has initially been welcomed by our review committee."
The potential move has been welcomed by supporters of the Lancashire Telegraph's Wasted Lives campaign, which is aimed at saving the lives of young drivers.
Kat Whitemoss of the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety said: "We would welcome any extra resources being put into the road policing unit.
"We work very closely in partnership with this team to deliver road safety initiatives to the people of Lancashire."
Your Say YourTelegraph
Driver Awareness, Great Harwood says...
9:55pm Thu 11 Sep 08
You can't tell people how to drive; it's personal. You have to get into people's minds with rock bottom common sense and then it will be more acceptable.
There's just as many deaths and serious injuries as there ever were so the current system isn't working.
The LET Wasted Lives Campaign is a typical example.
There's a book published which is very well received - and entertaining. It's entitled, Mind How You Go.
sandbagger, UK says...
11:21pm Thu 11 Sep 08
1. How to drive in the dark.
2. How to do emergency stops at higher speeds than 25 mph, ie up to 60 mph.
3. How to pay attention to the road ahead, anticipating what might happen ahead or to the rear and to be instantly ready to deal effectively with those potential problems BEFORE they become actual problems.
5. How to drive in problem areas - rather than just in quiet residential streets where the only 'problem' might be a mouse running into the road.
5. How to drive to a good standard, rather than 'just to pass the test'......
Jimmy Paterson, Shadow of Pendle says...
9:42am Fri 12 Sep 08
Your sayYourTelegraph
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WELCOME: Kat Whitemoss
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pip pip!, Hyndburn says...
8:44pm Thu 11 Sep 08
ing and education. We have had many years of little investment in engineering safety into our road infrastructure (witness A59/Sabden junction) and only a passing nod to education of drivers riders and pedestrians, with enforcement only by inflexible cameras. Get dedicated traffic officers back on the road to both enforce and educate the public. Have a zero tolerance to both driving and parking infringments and you will soon produce an improved attitude safety and other road users.