“When was the last time you saw a police car on the motorway…? Importance of roads policing officers”

FORCES need more roads policing officers out in cars if they are to bring deaths down, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

There were more than 1,800 people killed on the road in the UK in 2019 and more than 27,000 seriously injured.

Forces have seen a 34% reduction in roads policing specialists, and there are too few officers dealing with the offences that cause road deaths, the Police Federation of England and Wales has said.

Steve added: “When was the last time you saw a police car on the motorway? I couldn’t tell you, unless it was at the scene of an accident. That just reinforces the shocking standards of driving on our roads. The roads in Britain are getting busier, the standards of driving I think most people anecdotally will say are dropping considerably, and yet we’re not seeing investment in roads policing. We are seeing more enforcement by static technology than actually having the deterrent of a moving pair of eyes that will go out and will actively police bad driving and bad practice.”

South Yorkshire Police has plans to grow the roads policing department, which the Federation has welcomed.

Steve added: “More police officers need to be put into vehicles to actually look out for not just speeding, but poor driving across the board. If there aren’t road traffic officers out there to prevent and deal with poor driving, then accidents will happen. Like every other department, it needs to be recognised that they’ve been decimated and they need to be returned back to some level of normality.”