Road safety charity welcomes decision to add roads policing to national priorities

IAM RoadSmart, the UK's largest road safety charity, welcomes the Home Secretary's decision to include roads policing for the first time in the Strategic Policing Requirements (SPR), published earlier this week.

This high-level document from the Home Office now recognises the importance of road policing and it means all police forces will be required to give it greater attention, both nationally and regionally. It plays a crucial role in directing police forces towards the biggest threats to public safety and ensuring they have the capabilities to deliver an appropriately robust and co-ordinated response.

Neil Greig, Director of Policy and Research at IAM RoadSmart, said: "The latest figures show 27,450 people were killed or seriously injured on UK roads.  Following recent dips, due to COVID-19, we are now returning to the long-term trend of a decade of stagnation in road death numbers. Immediate action is needed to get the UK back on track as a world leader for road safety and this new policy will play an important part in delivering that.

"The introduction of roads policing in the SPR will ensure police forces resource their roads policing departments and work more effectively with other forces to reduce death and injury on the roads.  IAM RoadSmart will be monitoring the impact of this new policy and we urge all our members, and drivers and riders everywhere, to hold their Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to account on its implementation."

*Article Source www.iam.vuelio.co.uk