Roadsafe London reply change..

ydrol
ydrol Posts: 39
edited November 2014 in Commuting chat
I sometimes upload bad driving/inconsiderate driving to youtube and file a roadsafe London report. http://content.met.police.uk/Site/roadsafelondon. I would like drivers that drive inconsiderately around vunerable users to receive a letter from the Met, in the hope that they change their behaviour.
However Roadsafe have recently stopped giving feedback to the submitters regarding the action they are taking.

As each clip can take over and hour to edit/upload I'm a little dissapointed that Roadsafe cant tell me the outcome.
And of course it gives them license to reduce the percentage of incidents followed up due to costs cutting etc.

After a submission I used to get one of the following replies:
In this instance police will not be taking any further action against the driver. However, a letter of warning has been issued to the driver concerned. The letter contains the link to your footage along with reference to Highway Code Rules relevant to the incident (guidance only, not enforceable), along with the equivalent sections/regulations of Road Traffic enactments (enforceable) and their penalties upon conviction ... Please be advised, Roadsafe London is not an alternative means of reporting road traffic offences or breaches of Highway Code Rules with a view to prosecution.

or
From the information you have provided there is insufficient evidence to take any action against the driver concerned. ... Please be advised, Roadsafe London is not an alternative means of reporting road traffic offences or breaches of Highway Code Rules with a view to prosecution.

Their new boilerplate reply to a submission is :
"Thank you for your submission to Roadsafe London concerning the incident detailed below which is now under investigation. Should we require additional information, we will contact you direct.

Please be advised, Roadsafe London is not a replacement for 999 or 112 and as a result, not designed to provide an emergency response, nor are we a means of reporting crime for further investigation or poor standards of driving with a view to prosecution"

To me "under investigation" is code for , well not a lot really :) We've received it and it's going through our process When I queried this they replied
"Thank you for your e-mail, the contents of which are noted...

Due to the increasing number of submissions received at Roadsafe London, it will now not always be possible to give a final disposal option upon receipt of the submission. We are not trying to keep anyone in the dark, we are merely seeking to reduce bureaucracy by shortening our initial reply.

Rest assured, advisory letters are still issued where appropriate. Should we feel a prosecution to be the most suitable disposal option, we will make further contact to that effect."

This is a shame. I wonder if we can encourage them somehow to advise when a letter has been sent? I'm not really after prosecutions as many incidents dont warrant that, I just really want some drivers to be more considerate around cyclists, have it brought to their attention that they were in the wrong, and there is video evidence.
(there is little to be gained from discussing it with them at the time).

Here's my submissions so far - https://www.youtube.com/user/ydrol2/videos

Thoughts?

Comments

  • Initialised
    Initialised Posts: 3,047
    You'd think that in a modern democracy with restricted resources the police force would welcome this form of self policing as a way of improving road safety with minimal costs. I guess the police and TFL have priorities other than keeping the public safe.
    I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.
  • ydrol
    ydrol Posts: 39
    I replied to Roadsafe again
    Hi , the reason many cyclists report these is for at least a letter to be sent out when it is warranted/deserved and to get feedback that it has happened. If that feedback is no longer given (or there is no follow up reply) then the cyclists is none the wiser. It takes about an hour to review, edit and upload footage. and all were are now getting is a message saying 'thanks' and nothing more?

    And I got back a very long reply which droned on about what roadsafe is/isnt (all of which I know already but without feedback this does not seem like a good course of action for submitters to take, in the hope of altering drivers behaviour BEFORE they cause an accident) and feedback is not a goal of RoadSafe.

    I've reposted the reply below in fairness (slightly rude ending IMO).
    Dear <me>

    Roadsafe London was created as an information and intelligence gathering portal where members of the public could advise us of criminal, nuisance and anti-social behaviour on the roads of London. It was not intended to be an enforcement instrument and this has not changed. This is made very clear on the opening page of the Roadsafe London website, where it also states that if you do provide contact details we will acknowledge your information and reserve the right to contact you if we feel you may be able to provide further information or clarification. Whilst we appreciate the time and effort involved in submitting a report it does not state that feedback will be provided.

    Submissions are thoroughly checked against numerous databases. Footage is reviewed with all details recorded on Roadsafe's own database which is used to provide an intelligence picture of what types of offences are being committed, when and where. This information is used to identify repeat offenders and to decide where Police resources can be best deployed to deal with the issues highlighted. At this point Roadsafe officers' may use their discretion to decide if an advisory letter or other disposal option may be suitable. In this instance an advisory letter was sent.

    Roadsafe London is not an alternative means of reporting minor road traffic offences or breaches of Highway Code Rules with a view to prosecution although enforcement has a process which can be accessed if you wish. This must be done on official documentation which is available either from your local Police Station or on the web site under the ‘Collision forms and reports’ section. For these incidents, Form 966 (Collision/Incident Form) must be completed and submitted to a local/convenient Police Station within 7 days of the date of the incident if an allegation is to be pursued.

    The Metropolitan Police Service takes the issue of poor standards of driving very seriously. However, we are constrained in our activity by both legal and resource considerations. Our activity on such matters is far broader than the Roadsafe London website which is very limited in its application. We do appreciate the information you have supplied as it enables us to build a bigger picture and then take action should a problem be identified however, we will not enter further debate with you regarding this incident.


    Kind regards

    Paul WHITE PC578TD

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