The Police should limit car chases to ‘extreme emergencies’ says a leading road safety campaigner.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car review website dogandlemon.com, was commenting after the latest serious accident that occurred during a police pursuit.
“Fatalities after police car chases are often preventable. I know that police hate to let offenders escape, but the fact remains that police chases often end in serious accidents involving innocent people.”
“The sort of drivers who try and outrun police tend to be young males with criminal associations. These drivers don’t think of consequences – they get a rush of adrenaline and just take off at high speed. It’s inevitable that a large percentage of these fleeing drivers will crash.”
“The police have other options: they can use surveillance cameras, helicopters, road spikes, or simply notify other police cars and quietly pursue the fleeing vehicle at a distance.”
“A recent study of pursuit-related accidents in Britain showed that half of police drivers whose chases end in death were not fully trained. I suspect the same would apply here.”
“It’s inevitable that a percentage of criminals in a car will get a rush of adrenaline and try to escape. However, the police who are pursuing a fleeing car shouldn’t allow a rush of adrenaline to replace their own sound judgment.”
Last year, 16 people died as a result of motorists fleeing the police.
