SOUTH Yorkshire Police drivers are being urged to remember they still have no added protection in law when driving in pursuit or in response.<\/p>\n
Currently they are subject to the same careless and dangerous driving legal test as members of the public meaning their specialist training and experience won\u2019t be taken into consideration during any careless or dangerous driving cases.<\/p>\n
A recent public poll showed people back a change in the legislation and new laws reversing the status quo do have widespread support in Government.<\/p>\n
However, South Yorkshire Police Federation Chairman Steve Kent says until the law is changed, police drivers must remain mindful of the current situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is light at the end of the tunnel but we\u2019re not there yet, so my default position is that officers still have to operate under the assumption that they don\u2019t have any more legal protections than any other driver at this stage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, they\u2019re going to exceed the speed limit and they are obviously going to drive fast to incidents, and if they\u2019re pursuing people, they are obviously going to do what they need to. But they just need to be mindful of the risks that they\u2019re taking, in terms of whether they\u2019re going to be protected by the law.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do think there\u2019s an attitude change in Government but because of all the other distractions, it seems to be on the backburner,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, until that legislation\u2019s come in, I advise officers to be careful and just have this within their mind that they\u2019re not going to be treated any more favourably than anybody else until the law is changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve hopes the long campaigned for legislative change will give officers the freedom they need to safely and professionally protect the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the legislation comes in, it\u2019s not going to give officers a free ticket to then go out and drive to extremes. It\u2019s not about that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what I think it will do is give them the confidence that they can concentrate on their job at hand and they can drive proportionately to what they need to do, with the knowledge that they will have the legal protection behind them, should they need it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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