One vehicle crash a day by Police

Press, 11 September 1986, Page 14

One vehicle crash a day by Police

PA Wellington Police crash a vehicle once a day and write one off every nine days, a Police Association researcher says. “There is obviously a desperate need for comprehensive driving instruction at the (police) college,” the association’s industrial research officer Ms Tania Winkels, writes in the association’s July newsletter. “The association is appalled by the attitude displayed by senior officers of the (police) department,” Ms Winkels says. “It has been estimated that over an 18-month period, a police vehicle was involved in at least one accident a day. “Moreover, statistics show that one police vehicle was written off every nine days.” Repairs cost nearly $730,000. Ms Winkels says the figures are based . on a survey conducted by the Police College driving

unit. The police executive conference, presented with the survey’s findings, has decided not to provide comprehensive driver training to college recruits, she says. "Given the appalling accident statistics, this is a situation that must be urgently revised.” Recruits spend 24 weeks at the Police College, near Porirua, but could expect to receive a maximum of six hours and 40 minutes driving tuition. Ms Winkels questioned police administrators’ practice of laying charges against police drivers seen to be responsible for accidents. “The responsibility must surely rest squarely with the administration, not the individual,” she says. The police should attend driving courses at various stages of their careers, she says.