Gun Culture

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Plastic Road Cops In Collision

An interesting story this one

Paul Simpson, 50, was driving to Kendal to collect his mother from hospital when he encountered a Highways Agency patrol vehicle, with its lights flashing and an illuminated rear sign telling motorists: “Do Not Pass.”
Agency staff were setting up a “rolling” roadblock to protect police and motorway workers who were clearing up after a fatal crash half a mile along the motorway.
But Simpson tried to barge past them and ended up colliding with the agency’s Mitsubishi Shogun as it moved to block his path.

My first thought was “what a wanker” and clearly Simpson’s actions were arrogant and selfish.  I didn’t realise until looking into this incident that a motorist is under obligation to obey traffic directions from Plastic Road Cops - relavent legislation here (Traffic Management Act 2004)

6 Powers to stop or direct traffic (1) This section confers the following powers on a traffic officer—
(a) a power, when the traffic officer is engaged in the regulation of traffic in a road, to direct a person driving or propelling a vehicle—
(i) to stop the vehicle, or
(ii) to make it proceed in, or keep to, a particular line of traffic;
(b) a power, for the purposes of a traffic survey of any description which is being carried out on or in the vicinity of a road, to direct a person driving or propelling a vehicle—
(i) to stop the vehicle, or
(ii) to make it proceed in, or keep to, a particular line of traffic, or
(iii) to proceed to a particular point on or near the road on which the vehicle is being driven or propelled;
(subject to the restriction in section 35(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52));
(c) a power, when the traffic officer is engaged in the regulation of vehicular traffic in a road, to direct persons on foot (or such persons and other traffic) to stop;
(d) a power to direct a person driving a mechanically propelled vehicle, or riding a cycle, on a road to stop the vehicle or cycle.
(2) In section 35 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (drivers to comply with traffic directions)—
(a) in subsection (1)—
(i) after “a constable” there is inserted “or traffic officer”;
(ii) after “duty” there is inserted “or the traffic officer (as the case may be)”;
(b) in subsection (2)(b) after “constable” there is inserted “or traffic officer”.
(3) In section 37 of that Act (directions to pedestrians)—
(a) after “uniform” there is inserted “or traffic officer”;
(b) after “duty” there is inserted “or the traffic officer (as the case may be)”.
(4) In section 163 of that Act (power of police to stop vehicles), in subsections (1) and (2) after “uniform” there is inserted “or a traffic officer”.
(5) In Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (c. 53) (prosecution and punishment of offences under the Traffic Acts), in column 5 of the entry relating to section 35 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 after “constable” there is inserted “, traffic officer”.

So Mr Simpson’s reasoning:

After the collision, traffic was stopped and the agency’s Roderick Smith, who was in the Shogun, spoke to Simpson and asked if he had seen the signs.
“He replied that he had but that he didn’t have to take any notice as we were not the police. The only thing I take notice of, he said, are those, and he pointed to the matrix sign [above the motorway] and the news on the radio,” said Mr Smith.

is misguided.

However did Simpson cause the collision?

the agency vehicle changed its sign wording to “Stay Back” and moved into the third land to block his progress – at which point Simpson’s car made contact with the Shogun.

That reads to me like the Agency vehicle caused the accident by moving into lane 3, this is surely outside the remit of the Agency staff.  In fact if that had been a police vehicle I doubt very much that the driver would have driven into Simpson’s vehicle in that manner.
In my armchair quarterback opinion the Agency car should have maintained the rolling roadblock and reported Simpson for the offence of failure to obey, playing stock cars in the motor way is unacceptable.