Traffic police cuts could mean deadly, drunk and drugged drivers get away with it, says charity Brake, the road safety charity.

Traffic police numbers across Great Britain have been cut by 12% in five years, with some forces suffering 30-40% reductions, according to data released today by road safety charity Brake and webuyanycar.com. While traffic police in Scotland increased by 4%, numbers were down by 31% in Wales, and 13% in England. Brake and webuyanycar.com are warning the cuts leave some parts of the country dangerously short on vital frontline roads policing, which could put the public at risk from dangerous, law-breaking drivers.

The largest cuts have been in: Bedfordshire, where roads police have been reduced by 44%; South Wales and Dyfed Powys, where cuts are around 40%; and West Mercia and Hampshire, where reductions are more than a third. Read the full results broken down by police force area.

Brake and webuyanycar.com are concerned the resulting lack of roads policing officers will lead to forces struggling to enforce vital safety laws, such as on drink driving, speeding and mobile phone use, and could potentially undermine an important new drug driving law expected to come into force next year (see below).

International evidence shows enforcement is a key part of keeping roads safe[1], preventing devastating crashes and casualties by providing a deterrent against risky driving and ensuring dangerous offenders are taken off the public road.

Brake and webuyanycar.com are calling on the government to act to stem these severe cuts to life-saving traffic policing. It is urging the government to make roads policing a national policing priority, and ensure traffic policing is sufficiently resourced to tackle drunk, drugged and other dangerous driving.

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive at Brake, said: "It is desperately worrying such large cuts continue to be made to traffic policing, just as progress is being made to improve the law on deadly drug driving. Roads police officers do a vital job enforcing important safety laws and protecting the public - their work is proven to save lives and prevent injuries and suffering. Cutting traffic police is a false economy, because the crashes and casualties they help to prevent inflict such devastation and are a huge drain on public services. These cuts also undermine important progress being made by government to tackle drug driving - because as much as we need a new drug driving law and screening devices, we also need the officers out there to enforce it. We urge the government to make roads policing a national policing priority, to make sure we have a strong deterrent against the risk-taking on roads that can easily cost lives."

A spokesperson from webuyanycar.com added: "It's imperative that the police have the resources to protect all road users from the drivers whose criminal behaviour puts us at unnecessary risk. We urge the Government to heed the warning of our report and stem the cuts before we witness a hike in needless incidents; incidents that, without road policing, are waiting to happen."

About the new drug drive law

The government is bringing in a new offence against driving with illegal drugs in your body, including limits for drugs in the bloodstream, similar to the drink drive limit, and provision for police to use roadside drug screening devices. Currently, prosecutors have to prove a driver is ‘impaired' by drugs, which is difficult and means prosecutions are relatively few.

Driving with drugs in the system can be deadly. For example, smoking marijuana before driving can more than double crash risk[2], and methamphetamine can encourage speeding and poor lane discipline[3]. Mixing drugs and alcohol is even more dangerous than simply taking drugs, or drinking, before driving[4].

Why roads policing is vital

Traffic police play a vital role in keeping us safe on roads. A proper deterrent is vital for sending out the message that road crimes are incredibly dangerous and will be taken seriously by the criminal justice system. Drug drivers state that a lack of enforcement is a reason they continue to offend, knowing they are unlikely to be caught[5].

According to Brake's research, a third of drivers (31%) think there is a less than one in ten chance of being caught if you drink and drive[6]. Senior police officers have expressed their frustration at the lack of priority given to roads policing by successive UK governments, stating the ‘second tier' status of roads policing leads to forces being unable to properly enforce driving laws [7].

Case studies

In June 2010 Lillian Groves, 14, was killed outside her home in Croydon by John Page, who had been smoking cannabis. He was convicted of causing her death by careless driving and sentenced to eight months in jail, reduced to four months for an early plea. He was released after just eight weeks. Lillian's family went on to campaign successfully for improved laws and enforcement on drug driving. Natasha Groves, Lillian's mum, said: "Lillian was a wonderful young child who did not deserve to die. She lit up rooms and gave warmth to everyone she met. A child being so suddenly killed, in such a needless and destructive way, is something that tears a hole in the heart of your family. We have successfully campaigned for Lillian's Law to make it an offence to drive on drugs, but this won't have the impact that is desperately needed unless there are enough police officers enforcing this new law. Specialist traffic police are vital to detecting and stopping dangerous drug drivers that cause carnage on our roads, so we plead for action to stop this decline in their numbers."

In October 1998, 18 year old nursery nurse Emma Greathead, from Worcestershire, and her friend, accepted a lift from a young man they knew when their car broke down. He overtook another car at more than 90mph on a 60mph road and they crashed into an oncoming vehicle. All three of them died, along with the driver of the oncoming vehicle. The driver of the vehicle he was overtaking was charged with causing four deaths but was acquitted of all charges. Emma's mother Sarah said: "I find it horrifying that traffic police are being cut in such great numbers, when they do such an important job in stopping people being needlessly hurt or killed. I can't even begin to explain the mental confusion, the physical pain and emptiness of our life caused by Emma's death. Any parent would understand the devastation of losing a child and the difficulty of dealing with the aftermath. Time makes no difference; your hopes and dreams are gone, you never escape it. Emma was a bright, beautiful 18 year old. We all miss her so much."

Anyone who has been bereaved or seriously injured in a crash can call the Brake helpline for support on 0845 603 8570.

www.brake.org.uk

We can now announce the Saturday night headliner has been confirmed, from The Jam will be blasting out hits from The Jam

Led by the Jam's ex base player Bruce Foxton, After The Jam split in '82, Foxton pursued a solo career. He had a hit with the single "Freak" and collaborated with other musicians, until he... read more here

Ducati teams make further strides in both British Superbike and National Superstock 1000 classes

Ducati enjoyed its strongest weekend’s racing for some time at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk (5-7 July). Tristan Palmer had yet another fantastic race in the National Superstock 1000 class for Rapido Sport Racing, while the team’s rider in the main British Superbike class Matteo Baiocco scored the a best ever result by breaking into the top ten.

Coming off the back of a good weekend at Knockhill the team had the top ten in its sights, but with the ultra-competitive nature of the series, nothing is ever certain. The Italian made a good start in race one and jumped two spots from thirteenth on the grid to 11th at the end of the first lap, finding himself in a fierce mid-field battle that stretched from eighth back to 14th.

A safety car period followed, and Matteo managed to move up to ninth at half race distance before dropping back a couple of spots to eleventh. It looked like the Factory Ducati World Superbike test rider would just miss out on that elusive maiden top ten, but a fall from one of the front runners on the penultimate lap bumped the sole BSB Ducati back into the top ten to score the best ever finish for the Rapido Sport Racing team.

Another strong performance in race two for Italian rider and bike saw the Rapido Sport Racing team once again knocking on the door of the top ten. By lap 11 of 16 the Italian had taken tenth and was lapping slightly faster than the riders ahead. By lap 14 he was up to ninth, but a resurgent James Ellison just edged him back to tenth for a repeat result of race one over the line. Both rider and team were delighted with the double top-ten, and are confident that the performance can be repeated for the rest of the season.

Things would get even better for the Italian marque as the day went on, with Tristan Palmer starting from second place on the grid for the weekend’s only National Superstock 1000 race. A superb launch saw the rider from Nuneaton rocket into first place into the first corner. He was pushed back into second on lap two, but after a brief safety lap period took the lead back on lap nine.

A mistake on the same lap saw Palmer drop back to third, and despite his best efforts, didn’t have enough grip left to challenge in the last few laps. A scary moment at Montreal on the final lap saw Palmer run very wide, but he managed to pull the 1199 Panigale up just in time to maintain fourth place across the line.

Signs were also positive from Robbie Brown in the Superstock class. The DMC Racing rider had been struggling all weekend, but a change to the traction control gave him the smooth power delivery he’s been searching for all season. The 24-year-old had moved forward from 29th on the grid to 18th before a burst water pipe forced him out of the race on lap 11.

The Ducati TriOptions 848 Challenge made a welcome return to the support bill this weekend, and provided even more exciting racing for Ducati fans. In race one, Jonathan Railton’s unbroken winning spree was brought to an end with a superb lights to flag victory for Marty Nutt on the number 77 machine.

Race two saw a fantastic race-long battle between Nutt and Railton, with Nutt muscling past the current championship leader and defending strongly for the majority of the race. On the penultimate lap, however, there was nothing the Northern Irishman could do to hold off Railton’s charge, and at Agositini corner the number 40 machine took the lead. Railton pulled out a gap of almost half a second over the line, and made it five wins from six races so far in 2013.

Matteo Baiocco said:

“I’m happy for the position because we brought some good points home. We are much closer to the factory riders than at the other races so this weekend had been good. We stopped the improvements with the bike after qualifying. We might have been able to do some more with the setting but we were scoring our best results so it wasn’t worth risking it. The races felt long – I forgot about the sun, the last time I was here the track temperature was two degrees so it was very different. In the end, to get this result without coming to test here, which a lot of the other teams did, looks good for the rest of the races.”

The teams return to action at Brands Hatch for round 6 of the British Superbike Championship 19-21 July.

Along with other stakeholders, the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCI) is disappointed with the outcome of the Motorcycle Test Review, announced by the Department for Transport.

Although some access improvements have been made with more examiners, the implementation of an online booking system and some additional test centres, the UK still has nowhere near the level of test centres before 2DLD was introduced.

Steve Kenward, Chief Executive of the MCI commented:

“Our disappointment chiefly lies with the fact that a genuine desire to try to work with the DSA and its stakeholders - to improve the 2DLD process - has not generated a better result. We remain concerned that the time and effort expended by all has not moved the testing regime forward.  Instead, it serves to reinforce a testing regime that MCI believes was poorly implemented at the outset”.

“We were willing to try to make 2DLD work, and we thought this review would help to refine its implementation, but a lack of progress raises a bigger question about whether the specific requirements of 2DLD should now be challenged. MCI remains concerned about the safety of a test which is considered too dangerous to be carried out on a road, yet qualifies the rider to use the road afterwards.  We remain passionate about rider safety, and especially the safety of those new to motorcycling and will continue to work with the DSA and other stakeholders to advance this”.

The British Bikers Association (BBA) has launched a 'pothole campaign' with a difference. With evidence compiled straight from the smartphones of its members, the UK's newest biking community aims to show local councils that evading their responsibilities is no longer an option.

Picture the scene. You're riding along enjoying yourself and engaging all your faculties in the safe observance of the laws of the land then - without warning - you hit a pothole. What happens? Well, if you're a motorcyclist you'll know the sickening feeling of losing control as you try and recover your balance and ride on. Frankly, that's the least offensive scenario - for many riders, hitting a yawning chasm in the road can spell serious injury and perhaps even death.

A casual glance at the statistics bolsters the case: motorcyclists may only account for a mere one percent of road users, but they account for 20 percent of all fatalities - a figure that's 61 times greater than the figure for car drivers. By anyone's measure that is a significant disparity in mortality rate. But, predictably, the very organisations that should be working to protect bikers from these kinds of numbers seem to be content to play the percentages. Take the recent news about the Highways Agency imposing speed limits on roads with surfaces more akin to the surface of the moon than a properly maintained public highway. The move - a result of introducing 'less prescriptive' maintenance contracts has seen vast sections of major routes such as the M11 become subject to speed restrictions - a genuine case of the tax payer stumping up cash to bankroll slower journey times and little in the way of improvements. At local council level the story is equally dispiriting. The coalition government's decision to let councils abandon their road improvement targets has led to miles of poor surfaces and a general trend of neglect. The Department for Transport's own figures tell a potent story: data compiled from polling 89 councils in 2010/11 shows that 38 per cent recorded deterioration in minor roads during this period. Major roads fared little better, with 40 per cent of councils recording a similar decline.

It would be funny if it wasn't so serious - and the crowning irony is that councils themselves are aware of the urgent need to deal with this in short order. Recent information released by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) revealed that councillors' top priority was dealing with the desperate state of the roads and yet, despite the message filtering to where it should, we still seem to be in a situation where potential death traps lurk round every corner.

It's not something that can be allowed to continue; but sadly, with 20 years' experience of fighting for the rights of bikers everywhere, the BBA's staff have bitter experience of the biking community's voice getting lost in the static. Yes, recent campaigns such as the BBC's Watchdog expose have made a dent in the public consciousness, but where's the motorcycle angle in all of this? Well, the good news is that it's right here and it's ready to start fighting back.

The British Bikers Association's Pothole Reporter feature offers everyone in the biking fraternity the chance to get the inside track on the location of potholes. Easily accessed with a couple of swipes of the 'Bikers Voice' app, this information can travel anywhere, allowing bikers on the move to access a complete inventory of all the potholes that have been reported to the site - and all from the convenience of their smartphones. That in itself is an incredibly useful resource, but Bikers Voice does more than that. Registered members get to take the next step in 'naming and shaming' local authorities into taking their duty of care seriously. With the 'Report Pothole' feature, they can take a picture of the offending surface and add a further two for good measure if required. The app will then overlay this on to Google maps for location information and the whole 'package' can be beamed straight to BBA to inform members browsing the 'campaigns/report a pothole' section of the website.

Whilst this is the type of innovation that's geared to make our councils think twice about lax - or non-existent - maintenance schedules, gathering evidence is only part of the equation. As a committed campaigning organisation, the BBA is using this information to head off the first - and last - resort of the wily council - the Section 58 defence. To offer a brief explanation, Section 58 of the Highways Act is supposed to require a local authority to take reasonable care of the road. However, should a pothole be reported and a biker go down, the council has recourse to all kinds of ways of removing the burden of responsibility from its shoulders. Many bikers will be familiar with the white spray around a hole that the council has hastily decided is 'scheduled for maintenance'; but as motorcyclists everywhere know, Section 58 defence is no moral defence in the wake of serious, preventable injury or a fatality.

It's a situation that can't be allowed to prevail, so the BBA is tackling this issue head-on by placing councils on 14 days' notice of potholes that have been uploaded to our website. If nothing has been done to deal with the problem after this period has elapsed, then we will contact their insurers with the details. In effect this has two outcomes: firstly if a biker goes down after the pothole has been reported, then the Section 58 defence no longer applies; secondly insurance companies looking after councils' policies will want to advise their clients of potential problems before they hit - and that should provide the extra motivation to get that pothole filled.

Speaking about the campaign, BBA founder Colin Mahoney was in a defiant mood: "The current situation on our roads is absolutely inexcusable. In effect motorcyclists and other roads users are paying to subsidise a regimen that allows the cracks, gaping holes and uneven surfaces that make riding out a real lottery. It's absolutely amazing what we can find to spend public money on; but when it comes to something that we are forced to use on a daily basis that has the potential to cause serious injury and even death, the cash and the political will to sort it out just doesn't seem to be there. The BBA is putting this issue to the forefront of the campaigning agenda and with our 'report a pothole feature' on the 'Bikers Voice' app (android version with Apple version to follow) and our willingness to get our hands dirty with the people that matter in this, we're not going to stop until it's something that's placed squarely at the top of councils' priority lists."

The British Bikers Association is the UK's freshest non profit motorcycling organisation. Founded by bikers for bikers, it's the ultimate resource for news, views and comment from in and around the world of motorcycling. For more information, including how to join, the benefits of membership, and further details about the 'Bikers Voice' app, log on and join the debate.