New Police driving standards regulation
polfed.org/news/latest-news/2022/police-drive...
polfed.orgPosted Nov 19, 2022, 9:37 AM UTC
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polfed.orgYes exactly that.
Anyone using a vehicle for a police purpose had the exemptions but would not be following orders and instructions if they broke policy and so they could be dealt with through misconduct proceedings but wouldnt get points for speeding etc.
Now if you are untrained you face all the traffic offence or at least will when this goes live in a couple weeks.
For trained drivers on paper its a great bit of protection but means you will have to stick to how driver training teach you to drive because they will be that standard you will be judged against. For everyone else who just makes it work and steps outside of their training, i.e pursuits that they say are just follows and not pursuits will be commiting traffic offences.
Traffic offences such as speeding, due care, failing to comply with a sign have never really been conduct issues. However with the way this job is going if they are intentional and on duty I can see them leading to dismissals. Its one thing pinging a safety camera van on your day off its another speeding on duty intentionally breaking the law. I fully support this change but officers everywhere need to be very awae that the ways and means act is abolished and has been for a while.
Only the future will tell!
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You were committing an offence regardless as a basic driver. The exemptions as I understood them only applied to "appropriately trained drivers"
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That's what the new legislation brings in. The restrictions just state it needs to be used for a polic purpose and in the example of speeding, that the observance of the limit would hinder the use if the vehicle for the purpose.
No statutory provision imposing a speed limit on motor vehicles shall apply to any vehicle on an occasion when it is being used for [fire and rescue authority], for ambulance purposes or police purposes, if the observance of that provision would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose for which it is being used on that occasion
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Ahh I think I read the following part about the NCA and interpreted it as applying to police too.
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No requirement in law for training currently.
You’ll be referring to Sec 19 of the Road Safety Act 2006 which although it was written many years ago has never actually been commenced so doesn’t apply.
The new statute coming in may change that but currently there’s no need for training to lawfully use the exemptions.
Looking at the FAQ it’s not clear if they are finally implementing S19. What it does confirm though is that you can only be subject to the new test of competence standard if you’ve completed an accredited course.
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My wonder is what will happen to other blue light drivers, Ambulance and fire, Doesn’t seem to be any change to those so I could still get done for a due care on the same response run to a job with Police
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I wonder how this will work with contravening signs where there is no specific exemption....
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Always understood it as if you can justify it then you can. Apply it to the circumstance of the call. Would be interesting to get some clarity though I agree!
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Q. What protection does the new legislation provide?
A. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act provides for a new test to assess the standard of driving of a police officer. Should an officer be involved in a road traffic incident, this new test will allow the courts and/or CPS to judge their standard of driving against a competent and careful police constable with the same level of prescribed training, rather than with a member of the public as was previously the case.
Is it me or does this sound like the officer will be railed even more when they make a mistake, as their expected standards will be higher?
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I take it this only applies whilst on duty driving in police vehicles?
I'm happy being held to a higher standard than some 17-year-old in a Corsa who thinks he's Lewis Hamilton, but I'd need a mortgage to pay for fuel if I had to drive my car like a job car, and I'd also expect a markedly lower insurance premium to properly reflect the higher standard of driving.
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Would some kind explaining the different tiers of drivers?
What's basic, standard, stopping, pursuit, etc
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There are three levels of police driver. These are:
Basic
Standard response
Advanced
In addition to these, there are also specialist police vehicles and roles that are set out in the Police Driving Curriculum.
Basic
All police drivers must hold a full Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) licence for the category of vehicle being driven. Individual forces have discretion to determine whether a practical assessment is also required.
A basic police driver:
must be trained to stop vehicles in routine circumstances (should force policy permit)
must drive within the constraints of the Highway Code
does not have authority to use emergency ancillary equipment (for example, blue lights, sirens) to facilitate progress
Standard response
A standard response driver:
must be qualified and authorised to the standards prescribed in the Police Driving Curriculum to enable them to respond safely to incidents using response performance vehicles
may use emergency ancillary equipment when the specific circumstances warrant it (for example silent approach en route to a burglary in progress)
Advanced
An advanced police driver:
must be qualified and authorised to the standards prescribed in the Police Driving Curriculum to enable them to respond safely to incidents using advanced performance vehicles
may use emergency ancillary equipment when the specific circumstances warrant it.
All just taken direct from CoP APP https://www.college.police.uk/app/roads-policing/police-driving
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Thank you very much kind sir
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My understanding now is that the Road Traffic Act has been amended. So as I understand it traffic exemptions now only apply 9f you have completed the relevant response driver training.
So now as a basic driver you'd be committing a traffic offence instead of just a breach of policy if you used them.
With one hand the Home Secretary Giveth (greater legal protection for trained drivers) and with one hand she taketh away (ability for forces to use discretion over discipline if the basic driver used exemptions in a dire life and limb situation).
Personally I think the new set up is better. I can count on one hand the basic drivers I know who manged to wriggle out of being sacked for using exemptions. And those situations were so dire as to be wholly exceptional and beyond the scope of force policy.
Really? We get basics drivers constantly driving on blues and getting caught out. Even a PCSO or two. Just get their basic ticket pulled for a few weeks. And not even for serious article 2 shit either. Just because they're fuckwits.
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Oh 100%, I'm all for this change.
I mean there's a good chance I don't hear about it unless its serious. The point I was making (badly) is that where basics have used them in a dangerous manner I've only known a couple to get off with it due to how exceptional their circumstances were.
Otherwise yes we also appear to have a semi regular churn of Specials and probationers wanting to use the nee naws
They would very likely get run for this in my force and be lucky to keep their job.
It used to be quite common to have basic drivers trying their luck but it's less common now due to the blackboxes that record literally everything. Only the complete idiot's do it now.
We have the boxes. Found that some skippers are just ‘dealing with it locally’ and not then informing driver training or anyone that they’ve done it. Maddening.
Bit of a different scenario, but do you know if a response trained driver who is only authorised to drive on blues, can technically decide if they can respond in a transit?
I had that exact scenario recently. Oppo response trained but only for cars. In a transit and we’re the only available unit for a grade 1 on the other side of our patch. Domestic in progress, 40 mins of normal driving. My oppo responded in the transit.
They disclosed their decision making to the skipper and I also had to give an account, but it didn’t go to driver training. I believe it should’ve. Thoughts?
I interpret slightly differently. They aren't amending section 87, so all police drivers will still technically have 'exemptions'. However, non-basic (suitably trained) drivers will have extra protection regarding careless/dangerous driving offences. That's the way I'm reading it anyway...
Section 87 is the requirement to have a driving license. Did you mean that?
I'm also very interested to know more about the impact of this. I've got basic + stopping, and I'm unlikely to get standard for many years if at all. I'm a very boring driver so I don't push it, though I've seen plenty of Specials who do. But we've always been told that if you're not dangerous, pushing it a little is covered by exemptions so long as you can justify it due to the need in the circumstances. I'd like to see more concrete guidance for basic drivers because on the face of it out sounds like there will be no tolerance following this change. Which I think is right and proper, I just want to be able to tell my team this in certain terms.
Sorry, section 87 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
I don't know who's told you that. I mean, they're somewhat right in terms of you are technically covered under legislation. But you absolutely cannot deviate from the Highway Code as a basic driver without breaching policy.
This new legislation as far as I can see doesn't change anything for basic drivers. It just covers response/standard and above drivers with more legal protection against charges of careless or dangerous driving offences.
Thanks. I quite agree with you. I think it's in the grey areas. Examples: you spot a wanted car and have to slightly exceed the speed limit to get to them and pull them over. Or there's a sudden response run and the Sgt tells you to keep up as you all make somewhere on blues. Both I know shouldn't happen, but I'm aware that they do. Usually everyone 'on the ground' such as the patrol Sergeants hand-wave it away as "you've got the exemption in law, it's just policy that you shouldn't but in this case it's justified by X".
What strikes me reading the guidance today is that if the standard approach and professional practice for judging driving standards is that driving will be judged against your ticket, then basic drivers need to stop doing that.
And I think that's correct. I'd just like to know for sure so I can guide my team, and so I know how hard of a slap they're in for when they inevitably push it.
Didn’t know basic + stopping was a thing.
In the met, if you have basic, you can stop cars with blues but you just can’t pursue if they make off.
Yeah they're separate tickets in our Force. Stopping is compliant only - as you say you can't pursue.