During 2008 Northamptonshire Police accepted liability for a total of 45 accidents involving a police vehicle.
Of the 45, one accident involved a pedestrian and two involved a motorcyclist. Three people suffered minor injuries.
The figures, which were obtained under the Freedom of Information act, reveal there were 3,357 crashes caused by police officers nationwide last year, with Northamptonshire Police coming 15th out of the 25 police forces which supplied information.
Chief Insp Sean Bell, of the police vehicle collision reduction group, said: "Collisions do happen, but ones caused by police drivers fortunately happen infrequently.
"We do not want our vehicles to be involved in any accidents, but these 45 incidents have to be set against the fact we have 417 police vehicles of varying kinds that collectively cover around six million miles a year.
"We work hard to ensure our officers and staff are well trained and carry out their driving duties safely and we take our responsibilities to other road users very seriously.
"While people expect us to respond quickly to emergencies, we balance that with the need to drive with great care.
"If a police driver is involved in a collision, the circumstances are thoroughly investigated to the same high standard that would be applied to members of the public, and any appropriate action taken."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment