In serious accidents, the phase which takes the most time is the police investigation of the incident and the collection of evidence. The need for thorough investigation of fatal accidents arises from the need to gather good evidence to support a possible prosecution and to be able to explain what happened at an inquest and to the family of the deceased. There does not appear to be a standard practice in deciding when to deploy specialist investigation teams to non-fatal accidents. The police take advice from the ambulance crew at the scene on whether injuries may be life-threatening.One respondent said that it is possible to take a view on whether a prosecution is likely within 15 minutes. If not, examination could take as little as 30-60 minutes, but in practice may still take 3-4 hours as police also have to produce a report for the coroner and they also have an eye on how they can assist within the civil sphere e.g. in subsequent litigation. There are a number of ways in which investigations could be speeded up by extension of best practice or by incremental changes to operational procedures: (1) police authorities should maintain 24 hour cover by specialist accident investigation teams. (2) if carrying out the investigation and managing the accident site is too much for one team and that this function should be split. (3) Accidents should be investigated by the nearest unit, even if this is based in a neighbouring area. (4) Recovery vehicles should be called out at an early stage so that they are available as soon as needed. (5) Members of police investigation teams should be trained to take photographs so that no time is lost in calling out a photographer. (6) Investigators should have immediate access to on-board vehicle computers. Investigations could be speeded up further if the Highways Agency set up a geographical database of the motorway system which could be used in conjunction with laser scanning to enable debris to be referenced on a plan and then removed much more quickly. The Highways Agency should explore with the police ways to speed up warnings of road closures on variable message signs.Turning traffic back to the previous junction is the least satisfactory way of releasing traffic trapped on a motorway. Work should continue to find practical ways of implementing emergency contraflows. Consideration should be given to setting up a national road accident investigation service.
Samenvatting