Delays Due to Serious Road Accidents

The RAC Foundation recognises that the police have a duty to fully investigate those collisions where people are left killed or seriously injured. But is the right balance being struck between the needs of justice and victims’ families, and the importance of keeping an increasingly busy road network working smoothly?

Irving Yass tackles this difficult and sensitive subject in this report for the RAC Foundation.

Delay in reopening roads costs the economy billions of pounds each year, and the congestion it causes can also lead to further accidents. The RAC Foundation believes it is vital police properly investigate crashes where people are killed or seriously injured, but this need has to be set against the requirement to keep traffic moving. Improvements in the way accidents are investigated could benefit both road users and victims’ families.

In the last quarter of 2008 there were 86 closures of English motorways lasting more than three hours, yet for the whole year (across Great Britain) there were only 136 fatal motorway accidents.

Roads are often still closed long after an accident has taken place because of police investigations, but very little data is collected to show how many of these investigations translate into successful prosecutions.

In his report, Irving Yass makes a number of observations:

• The 2007 Police Road Deaths Investigation Manual is based on the principle that all fatal collisions should be investigated as ‘unlawful killings’ until the contrary is proved.
• There are currently no national statistics on how many detailed accident investigations take place, nor how many prosecutions result from them.
• There does not appear to be a standard practice in deciding when to deploy specialist investigation teams to non-fatal accidents.
• A snapshot of four police forces – London, Essex Humberside and Surrey – indicates the number of investigations is around three times the number of actual fatalities.

Among the report’s recommendations are:

• Police authorities should maintain 24-hour cover by specialist accident investigation teams.
• Accidents should be investigated by the nearest team even if it is from a neighbouring force.
• Thought should be given to removing the investigation role from individual constabularies and creating a national unit.
• The role of investigating an accident site, and also managing it, is too much for one team and the responsibilities should be split.
• Recovery vehicles should be called in ASAP so they are on site when needed.
• The Highways Agency should establish a geographical database of the motorway network linked to roadside markers to be used in conjunction with laser scanning so debris can be referenced and removed more quickly.