Police road signs to drop ‘accident’ for ‘collision’

[mab01uk]

"As police forces replace their road signs, ‘collision’ signs will replace those saying ‘accident’, as will visible messages on rear-facing in-car police notice boards. Blue ‘Police Accident’ signs are used by police at the roadside to warn road users to proceed with caution. Police forces across the UK will now be able to replace ‘Police Accident’ signs with ‘Police Collision’ signs, following approval from the Department for Transport (DfT). The change aims to reflect the preventable nature of most road crashes and promote greater accountability."
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/police ... -collision

[Polarsilver]

So what will the Police display if "whatever the incident " .. could be a genuine Accident & is Not a Collision ?
Will my Council Tax again increase to be able to subsidise all this crap

Thanks Mabb,, you have given me yet another reason to have a Moan.

[Peter Laidler]

I seem to recall that this nonsense of '....what is a collision and what is an accident....' started a few years ago in a case that made the high courts. The unlucky defendant - or later, the LUCKY defendant was acquitted after the cops had to admit that what he AND THEY said was correct! It WAS an accident and because it was an accident, and accidents WILL happen. Evan the cops called it an accident in all their reports into the case! Even the road signs called it an accident!

He was acquitted, some were left with egg on their faces plus costs to pay and a good deal of thinking in the months ahead it seems.

Probably much more to it than that and you'd need to be a road traffic barrister to pick the bones out if it. I see that our local radio and papers call the old Traffic cops 'road policing units' now!

[hanlminiman]

Forgive me, but I do think that a collision is a coming together of an object with something else. (Vehicle & scenery, or maybe another object). To be honest I believe it is all about liability for the incident and the amount the Insurance Companies are liable for.
The question is "What is an accident?" Hang on I've just moved my hand to press the enter key and have knocked over my glass which spilt its contents over the table, luckily not over the keyboard. Was it an Accident or a Collision? That is a question to be answered by a Barrister. No insurance claim pending; yet.

[timmy201]

There was a good documentary I watched about the history of cars in Australia. In the very early days when there were only a handful of cars there had been a “collision” and multiple injured people and from memory at least one fatality. The newspapers at the time reported it as murder rather than it being an “accident”

It does make you wonder at what point in time the default term became “accident”. When I watch the dashcam videos on YouTube you notice about 99.99% of crashes aren’t “accidents”, they are the result of negligence/recklessness/inattention/poor maintenance.

[mab01uk]

Good to see the police are tackling the most important issues that affect us as a priority, I am sure we will all feel much safer and sleep better knowing they have new signs....

[goff]

Good to see the police are tackling the most important issues that affect us as a priority, I am sure we will all feel much safer and sleep better knowing they have new signs....

well said Mab01

[Peter Laidler]

We used to call the young, eager, get-up-and-go traffic cops, all stiff hats, stiff pricks and fuxk-all sense.

[maxidave]

I would suggest that anyone involved in an accident should use their right of access to get the full police report and fire service report about
the accident.I was involved in an accident which was 100% not my fault.I was interviewed at the scene.The report i accessed was totally
different from the interview and described a sequence of events which had never happened. It caused me a loss of licence,written off vehicle
and a fair amount of money.I am now in the position that the DVLA has on record that i have a medical condition which affects my ability to drive.
My doctor has told them this is incorrect. To no avail.What's the answer ?

[Peter Laidler]

First mistake, being interviewed at the scene. Presumably no corroboration, just a few brief notes taken by the cops, signed by you. They tell you that you don't need to say anything......., SO DON'T! You and everyone else should have a little notebook and biro (pencil is best as it never dries out...) in your glove box too. Then YOU can make notes at the time as best evidence. Your insurers/policy should have got you a good road traffic savvy solicitor.

Re your medical notes, ask that they be struck out. If they don't, go and see your MP. That's what he's there for But now you are dealing with a remote agency who are a law or laws unto themselves

[maxidave]

Regarding my statement, it was just a brief word with the PC prior to the ambulance arriving.I didn't sign anything.The accident was 8.20pm on a narrow unlit lane.
I'm approaching a Renault Trafic parked facing me with the front wheels on full right hand lock.I hit the offside front wheel and my car is immediatly
tipped on its sideThe road is so narrow that the car rests against the bank.I had less than a metre either side of my car if the van wheels had been straight ahead.I have a dent in my front wing and my offside front wheel is back to the driver's footwell.The police report states that the offside
front wheel is ripped of the van (their words) and there is substantial damage from front to rear on the offside.Just after 10pm the officer sends
a form to DVLA which says i have a medical condition which affects my ability to drive.Just after 12 midnight a CT scan reveals a bleed on the brain.
The police tell me i hit a stationary vehicle therefore it is my fault.I say i could not see the wheel projecting out.Because of it's weight the van should
have parking lights on.I have been advised that it could cost up to twenty thousand pounds to pursue this.The police told me it is too late to do anything about it.My insurance company were not interested.
I'm aware that the bleed means a six month licence removal. That's fine.The accident was October 25th 2023,the ban came in late December 2023
and licence was returned end of August 2024. Approximately ten months.
Do i call it a day or pursue it.I'm pretty thick skinned if anyone wants to call me an idiot or worse.

[Polarsilver]

maxidave .. thanks for your descriptions to what was clearly a wrong challenge on to you .. But now its in the past & thankfully your alive to tell the tale. We hope that you are now fully Repaired & the Body is now Structural sound & all ready to go.. ( the Bank Account will catch up Later )

Trusting that we ALL can look forward to a much better World in 2025 & my New Year wish to all on the Forum is to just "Keep Safe" & enjoy the life we have

[AndyPen]

Regarding my statement, it was just a brief word with the PC prior to the ambulance arriving.I didn't sign anything.

Sorry to hear such a terrible experience. I too had my words twisted, albeit many years ago. At the hospital a Police sergeant asked me what happened to which I replied that I wasn't entirely sure, because it all happened too fast. I found out a few days later that I had suffered a suspension failure that led to the car veering left over a bridge and into trees that finally stopped me.

I asked to see his report as the nurses and doctors suggested it. He wrote down that I said I was travelling too fast!!! Luckily the health team confirmed my statement when I challenged it!!!

It really did knock my confidence in the Police at the time.

[Peter Laidler]

ANOTHER GOOD REASON for taking their advice when they kindly remind you that you're not obliged to say anything. ALWAYS take that good advice - and say nothing.

And later, if it gets to court - or similar - and you're asked '.....and why didn't you say this at the time clever-arse.....' you answer back with a smug smile that '....the real clever-arse told me that I wasn't obliged to.....'

[maxidave]

Thank you for the kind words.I have put the incident behind me now but i'm sure you can understand my frustration at the time.
I would like to wish a Happy New Year to everyone on the forum and thank the people who have kept this terrific forum going
for us and future generations to enjoy.
I don't know many people on here but it's always fun to guess the age of contributors by the great comments they make.
Hopefully at Beaulieu i can put names to the faces.

[gs.davies]

Hopefully at Beaulieu i can put names to the faces.

Maybe we’ll see if we can get a ‘club stand’ and we can all do just that. I don’t want to park with the modern cars again like I did last time.

[trevorhp]

Does this mean that 'collisions'are not accidental?
T

[Peter Laidler]

Collisions......., accidents....... It's all word play designed to close a loophole that some wag exploited - to his benefit!

[Smiffy]

It's just so the bent twatts can say the accident statistics are down...........

[timmy201]

Does this mean that 'collisions'are not accidental?
T

I guess it depends on how you define the word, and who is interested in the definition. Lawyers will use this to their advantage. Think of how many times the news will use words like “accused” and “alleged” as they are open to being sued for damaged if the person is found innocent later

Is an accident just a random thing that happens that’s outside of your control

Is an accident something that happens that’s under your control but you just weren’t paying attention

Is an accident something that happens when you’re taking a known risk outside of the law and crash

You can also see instances of collisions that are on purpose, whether it’s road rage, insurance fraud or something more malicious

How many road “collisions” do you see that are absolutely out of control of the drivers and the people around them? I would think it would be a very small percentage. Whether it’s negligence, incompetence, known risk taking or not driving to the conditions most “accidents” are avoidable