One of the great pleasures of being part of the Policing Insight team is the opportunity to be constantly reminded of the breadth of policing. Readers of these columns will surely agree that the breadth of the policing mission – from countering terrorism to neighbourhood policing and from policing protests to pandemics – is immense.
Speed limiters will present both opportunities and risks to law enforcement and the introduction of aircraft style ‘black boxes’ will change the nature of collision investigations and a great deal besides.
Sometimes specialist functions tend to lose prominence in this crowded landscape and that has certainly been true of roads policing in recent years. Yet changes in the roads policing landscape are in the pipeline that we think merit serious analysis and reflection. That’s why we have teamed up with DriveTech, who are regular contributors to Policing Insight, to host a free webinar on Thursday, 18th June, from 11 am to midday.
New regulations are going to be imposed across Europe in 2024, determining that many items of safety equipment must be fitted on all cars, vans, buses and goods vehicles and the scope of the equipment is exceptionally broad.
Speed limiters will present both opportunities and risks to law enforcement and the introduction of aircraft style ‘black boxes’ will change the nature of collision investigations and a great deal besides.
In total, there are 10 new requirements, including some which are entirely unfamiliar to the average British motorist, like the potential to prevent a car from being driven until the motorist blows a negative breath alcohol sample. And the fact that the UK has left the European Union will make no difference: the changes have been agreed.
Our webinar will begin with a presentation of the report’s findings by its author, Ian Bint. Ian, as a former head of roads policing in South Yorkshire
DriveTech commissioned a White Paper to examine the impact of these changes and it has recently been published. The paper concluded that, while the changes are largely welcome, there are undoubtedly some unanswered questions. For example, what will be the impact of the changes on driver behaviour? Will they induce a false sense of security, or create a generation of passive ‘passengers behind the wheel’?
The report also questions the reliability of the equipment – if, as is claimed, they are 95% reliable, does that mean our roads will be reliant on equipment that is liable to fail on 1 in 20 activations? And as yet more technical capability is placed in the hands of drivers, can we be confident that a single driving test, usually taken in very early adult life, is sufficient to equip a driver with the skills and knowledge required for a lifetime of driving.
Our webinar will begin with a presentation of the report’s findings by its author, Ian Bint. Ian, as a former head of roads policing in South Yorkshire is uniquely placed to assess the measures, informed by decades of experience. We will then hear reactions to the report from two eminent speakers.
Dr Helen Wells is Chair of the Roads Policing Academic Network and an expert on driver behaviour. Her comments will be followed by observations from John Apter, the widely respected Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales who has repeatedly spoken up for roads policing officers, highlighting the importance of the work they do and the need to ensure they are properly resourced and supported. Also contributing to the webinar question and answer session will be Ruth Purdie, currently the Chief Executive of the UKROEd charity but previously a chief police officer.
It’s a wonderful opportunity for the Policing Insight community to come together and discuss the policy changes that may be required, with people who have the opportunity to influence policymakers.
The webinar is your free opportunity to learn about the changes that are coming our way and to discuss their impact on a roads policing function that is already managing the likely implications and risks of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles as well as ever more electric and hybrid cars.
It’s a wonderful opportunity for the Policing Insight community to come together and discuss the policy changes that may be required, with people who have the opportunity to influence policymakers. I’m delighted that Policing Insight has the opportunity to be part of this event and encourage all our readers to take a moment to participate in the webinar and join the discussion.
You can register for your free place HERE
