ROADS POLICING


to drive police vehicles and they must familiarise themselves with them,” Tim explains.


“I cannot stress highly enough how


important it is for them to make sure they are fully aware of the changes and how they affect them. “Critically, their driving will no longer be assessed by the standards of the careful, competent driver, but will now be judged by those of their careful and competent colleagues, who have completed the same level of prescribed training. “The change in the law, which recognises police officers’ skills and professional training, is welcomed, but we must now ensure that all drivers are ‘in ticket’ with their training. “My advice to any officer who is not up to date with their police driver training is very simple – don’t drive a police vehicle, because if you do you could be vulnerable to prosecution.”


legislation and have undertaken self- assessment exercises. It is disappointing that currently we have 23 driving units across England and Wales where improvements are necessary.


“But the onus is on the individual officer


to make sure they only drive when they are up to date with the prescribed training, as defined in the regulations and legislation.” Training must be delivered by an accredited and licensed police driving instructor in line with the nationally-set learning standards. Tim is keen to stress that there is only


one standard, and any divergence by any force or senior officer will mean they are denying officers the ability to respond on blues-and-twos.


have a driver training unit and we are working with the NPCC to ensure there is a universal model for this essential assessment body. “Nationally, and for matters requiring subject matter expert evidence, there is the NPCC Subject Matter Expert (SME) group. “Members of this group have received training at the West Midlands Police Federation office, delivered by the Federation and the NPCC, and with continuing professional development (CPD) each year. “Local groups will be able to give


“These regs affect all officers trained


Tim is pushing for an exemption under the new legislation to give officers better protection when they act instinctively, in cases where they have to do something for which they have not been specifically trained. Provision is made in the Authorised Professional Practice (APP), but it needs to be covered from a legal angle too. National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) police driving lead DCC Terry Woods welcomed the legislative change: “I believe this is an excellent step forward for police drivers. Standardisation throughout the UK on police driving courses is essential in providing a minimum standard to all officers and making the roads safer for all.” The regulations are enshrined in law through The Road Traffic Act 1988 (Police Driving: Prescribed Training) Regulations 2022. The FAQ document, produced by


the Federation and the NPCC, aims to help officers better understand the new legislation. “Quite simply, the previous legislation did not recognise the training police response drivers undertake and the tactics they may need to employ when responding to emergencies or pursuing criminals,” says Tim. “This new legislation is a great stride


forward but, for the new test to be applied, officers must be driving for police purposes and have undertaken the prescribed training as set out in the regulations. “Police driving schools have had months to ensure they are compliant with the


15 | POLICE | FEBRUARY 2023


“The new law demands that an officer’s driving, when an incident makes the inquisition necessary, is assessed by a professional, knowledgeable and competent individual,” he said. “Each force must have an appropriate


mechanism by which these nationally agreed and enshrined in law standards are assessed. Locally, forces should


to drive police vehicles and they must familiarise themselves with them”


advice on the standards as they are made up from appropriately skilled and knowledgeable individuals. “But, as agreed by the Federation, the NPCC, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the Home Office, members of the SME group are the only ones able to give expert evidence.” Police driving schools are


likely to be licensed in a similar way to firearms units, since there is a higher incidence of risk, and the College of Policing will issue new APP. In the meantime, training is being rolled out to solicitors who are involved in representing officers as some officers may wrongly believe they have received “prescribed training”.


Tim Rogers


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