Police officers that take part in high speed chases have been called into scrutiny
this month after announcements that forty people are killed each year on Britain's roads in these sorts of circumstances. Superintendent Alan Greaves said that this figure is far more than those who die on custody or in firearms incidents, and therefore the police drivers would have to be addressed. He went on to say that not enough is done to ensure the standard of police driving remained high in these situations, and felt that the drivers had a responsibility to road users in the UK.
The superintendent went on to say that the police are letting the general public down sufficiently by not presenting a united standard of driving, and therefore putting lives at risk.
The police force insist that all but their specially trained high speed police officers can do no more than twenty miles per hour over the legal speed limit, and aircraft style black boxes are present on fleet cars to log the activities of the vehicles.
The police force employ a certain percentage of officers who they train to be able to drive at high speeds, in situations like pursuits or car chases where the driver is putting the general public's lives at risk. There have been stories in the news whereby other police officers have caused accidents by engaging in high speed cases when they shouldn't have, and these officers normally escape prosecution due to their jobs. A more rigid scheme would greatly benefit all of the public, and with wayward driver numbers reducing, also limit the cost for our Car Insurance.