Q: What is worse than a Speeder ?

linfordlunchbox · June 2007

A: A Police Road safety officer

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Leading road safety officer on drink-drive charge
Last updated at 11:01am on 6th June 2007
A police officer who spearheaded regional campaigns to promote road safety has been charged with drink-driving, it was confirmed today.

Pc Andy Walker, who has worked as a casualty reduction officer for Humberside Police, was arrested on suspicion of driving after consuming excess alcohol.

Humberside Police confirmed today that a 51-year-old officer was stopped in Beverley, East Yorkshire, in the early hours of last Sunday.

He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and will appear before magistrates on Friday.

He was scheduled to appear at Beverley Magistrates' Court but because he works in the town the case has been moved to Bridlington, court officials said today.

It is understood that Pc Walker has headed numerous campaigns to educate people on the dangers of drink-driving.

A spokeswoman for Humberside Police said: "A 51-year-old male Humberside Police officer was arrested in Beverley in the early hours of Sunday on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

"He was subsequently charged with driving over the prescribed alcohol limit.

"Once matters have been dealt with by the court, consideration will be given to internal misconduct proceedings."

It is understood that Pc Walker has not been suspended but has been given different duties by Humberside Police.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

"I'd clean my car with a baby elephant - if I had a baby elephant !"

andy_wrx · June 2007

Not 'A' Police Road safety officer surely - 'this' Police Road safety officer.

Or are you suggesting they're all drunks ?

Assuming he goes through the courts and is found guilty, they're going to discipline him internally - and if that means sack him, fine.

Time to dig-out the Summer bike (why's it just started raining ? Is it something I said ?)

eternal_headwind · June 2007

This raises a good point. Some motorists are being offered road safety education as a substitute for part of their sentence when found guilty of an offence. Surely a police road safety officer should be fully educated in this respect, so are these educational programmes of any benefit?

Andy wrx: yes, but most don't drive home

Mister Paul · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Eternal_headwind

This raises a good point. Some motorists are being offered road safety education as a substitute for part of their sentence when found guilty of an offence. Surely a police road safety officer should be fully educated in this respect, so are these educational programmes of any benefit?

Andy wrx: yes, but most don't drive home
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

It's always comes down to choice. Education is just that -education. It can't force anyone to act in a certain way. It just makes them more of a fool when they don't.

__________________________________________________________
What we need is a new, national White Bicycle Plan

linfordlunchbox · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Eternal_headwind

This raises a good point. Some motorists are being offered road safety education as a substitute for part of their sentence when found guilty of an offence. Surely a police road safety officer should be fully educated in this respect, so are these educational programmes of any benefit?

Andy wrx: yes, but most don't drive home
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Which follows that the full weight of the law should be upon him.

What possessed him to even contemplate it being in such a high profile job ?

"I'd clean my car with a baby elephant - if I had a baby elephant !"

andy_wrx · June 2007

Re the driver education courses, I was knocked-off by a car in January, the police sent me a letter saying that they were intending to 'offer' the driver a place on one as an alternative to prosecution, but that if I felt strongly about it I should contact them.

The driver has to pay for the course (a day and a half, œ175 IIRC) and there's a test at the end of it, if they fail that they get prosecuted.
If they are involved in a similar incident in the next 5 years, they get prosecuted not another course.

In my case, I was hit from behind on a straight country lane in broad daylight by a doddery old bloke, perhaps in his 70's.
It was a glancing blow from his mirror as he passed me too close, but I ended-up on the road, fortunately only bruised and scraped.

It wasn't some angry road-rage incident by some yob in a GTi, in my view it was probably either an error on his part in not giving me enough room...or he is just too old and doddery and shouldn't be out there driving.

I couldn't see the point of putting him through the courts as a punishment, nor would fining him œ100 and a couple of his points on his licence make any difference.
They wouldn't help me, nor in any likelyhood act as a deterrent to prevent him doing it again.

What I really wanted was that he was medically examined to be sure he is still capable of driving. If his eyesight, reactions, concentration, judgement, etc is gone then I want him off the road before he hits someone else, perhaps with more serious consequences.

So I rang the police to see if this could be done.
No, because it would be discriminating against him because of his age and they couldn't do that.
The driver education course wouldn't test his eyesight either.
But it would require him to demonstrate he could drive to the required standard in the test at the end of the course.

That was the best I was going to get so I had to be satisfied with it.
They've just sent me a letter saying he's passed the course.
I know where he lives and what he drives, so I'll be keeping a wary eye open when I'm in that area (but I didn't see him coming last time...)

I'm just hoping that he spent a day and a half being seriously patronised in road-safety seminars, together with young yobs, drink drivers, etc and the whole thing was a bit of a humiliation and stress for him, so that he looks again at whether he should be driving, or that it's worried his family and they pressure him to stop.

But there seems to be no system to medically-ban an elderly driver. My Dad's 70 and easily got his licence renewed.
A friend of ours was so concerned about her elderly father's driving, which scared the hell out of her when he gave her a lift somewhere, that she wrote to his GP. The answer back was that only if her father went to his GP himself could do something about it, not because she the daughter had written, even though he understood her motivation in wanting to do the best thing for her father and other road users.

I suppose one point is that for some elderly drivers in rural areas, if you take away their licence you're taking away their way of life, they can't continue to live where they do. But there is a point where for their own and others' safety they shouldn't be driving, even if they limit themselves to short distances in daylight only.

Time to dig-out the Summer bike (why's it just started raining ? Is it something I said ?)

redrobbo · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by andy_wrx

Re the driver education courses, I was knocked-off by a car in January.. ..they shouldn't be driving, even if they limit themselves to short distances in daylight only.

Time to dig-out the Summer bike (why's it just started raining ? Is it something I said ?)
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Oh, I know, I know..

Titanium is for the fairies

lardarse rider · June 2007

Q: What is worse than a Speeder ?

An arrogant tosser on cocaine!!

Please be upstanding for the Mayor of Simpleton

Q: What is worse than a Speeder ?

Comments

Categories