A meeting of stakeholders has produced a new package of tougher measures to tackle dangerous driving in the West Midlands. The action comes to the grim backdrop of three cyclists and a pedestrian having lost their lives on Birmingham roads in May.

A father of a two-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run while cycling on 16 May, weeks before a 12-year-old riding a bike was also killed, and a driver arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and being unfit to drive through drugs. On 29 May, a cyclist was killed in a further hit-and-run before a four-year-old boy was killed after being hit by a driver in Erdington a day later.

The fatalities prompted the West Midlands' Walking and Cycling Commissioner Adam Tranter to make an urgent plea for action to "turn the tide on aggressive driving in Birmingham".

At a subsequent meeting requested by Mr Tranter — chaired by West Midlands mayor Andy Street and attended by the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, the councillor responsible for transport at Birmingham City Council, Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, as well as Transport for West Midlands' executive director — tougher measures for dangerous drivers were agreed upon, with the cited aim to "target the most dangerous drivers" with "relentless enforcement of the rules of the road".

Among the agreed measures, the speed limit on main A-roads in the city will be cut from 40mph to 30mph, enforced with an increase to the number of average speed cameras in the city.

Pedestrian crossings are to be reprogrammed to give people more time to cross, while the police force said it would work to make it easier for road users to report footage of dangerous driving.

A crackdown, called Operation Triton, will be launched at hotspots with extra police officers out combating dangerous driving, Birmingham Live (link is external) reports.

The footage-reporting admission comes just months after an FOI request, submitted by Chris Smith, revealed that of 286 reports of careless, inconsiderate, or dangerous driving around cyclists considered by West Midlands Police in 2022, only one resulted in a prosecution.

In response, the force accepted it needed to review the way reports are managed, an update again acknowledged in the findings of last month's meeting.

Also last month, officers launched an on-ground response to the hit-and-run deaths, undertaking a day of action targeting dangerous driving, with more than 70 motorists stopped, including one allegedly watching a video on their phone behind the wheel.

The operation came after a further incident saw two pedestrians, a boy and a woman, seriously injured, sparking a roadblock protest in Kings Heath.

Outlining the "sensible" aim to reduce the number of collisions, currently around 400 per year, where people are hurt or killed by 50 per cent by 2030, Mr Tranter said the longer-term goal of reaching a point where nobody is killed or seriously injured in collisions would be "one of the most challenging things this region has ever done".

"In recent weeks, several unacceptable acts of road violence have led to needless deaths and serious injuries on our roads," he said. The outrage felt by communities is clear and justified."

https://road.cc/content/news/crackdown-dangerous-driving-after-cyclist-deaths-302987

Police: 3000 burglaries a day NFA

Due to lack of resources the police in E&W are closing more than a million
cases of burglary and theft every year with NFA after the initial report.

This is the time to ask the question as to whether the police can afford to
follow up on ‘cases’ where a driver has not collided with a cyclist.

Freeing up these officers would mean they could be deployed on at least a
basic follow-up to a report of a burglary or theft, as it is known that
once burgled, the chances of a repeat of the crime is a staggering 25%, and
effective action can be taken to mitigate against this, especially when
police officer offers advice on countermeasures. At present, conviction
rates are very low.

It’s time the police stopped pussy-footing about with non-crimes like
‘close passes’ and tackled real issues.

Free up those officers! Bang up the burglars!

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> A meeting of stakeholders has produced a new package of tougher measures
> to tackle dangerous driving in the West Midlands. The action comes to the
> grim backdrop of three cyclists and a pedestrian having lost their lives
> on Birmingham roads in May.
>
> A father of a two-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run while cycling
> on 16 May, weeks before a 12-year-old riding a bike was also killed, and
> a driver arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and
> being unfit to drive through drugs. On 29 May, a cyclist was killed in a
> further hit-and-run before a four-year-old boy was killed after being hit
> by a driver in Erdington a day later.
>
> The fatalities prompted the West Midlands' Walking and Cycling
> Commissioner Adam Tranter to make an urgent plea for action to "turn the
> tide on aggressive driving in Birmingham".
>
> At a subsequent meeting requested by Mr Tranter — chaired by West
> Midlands mayor Andy Street and attended by the Chief Constable of West
> Midlands Police, the councillor responsible for transport at Birmingham
> City Council, Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, as well as
> Transport for West Midlands' executive director — tougher measures for
> dangerous drivers were agreed upon, with the cited aim to "target the
> most dangerous drivers" with "relentless enforcement of the rules of the road".
>
> Among the agreed measures, the speed limit on main A-roads in the city
> will be cut from 40mph to 30mph, enforced with an increase to the number
> of average speed cameras in the city.
>
> Pedestrian crossings are to be reprogrammed to give people more time to
> cross, while the police force said it would work to make it easier for
> road users to report footage of dangerous driving.
>
> A crackdown, called Operation Triton, will be launched at hotspots with
> extra police officers out combating dangerous driving, Birmingham Live
> (link is external) reports.
>
> The footage-reporting admission comes just months after an FOI request,
> submitted by Chris Smith, revealed that of 286 reports of careless,
> inconsiderate, or dangerous driving around cyclists considered by West
> Midlands Police in 2022, only one resulted in a prosecution.
>
> In response, the force accepted it needed to review the way reports are
> managed, an update again acknowledged in the findings of last month's meeting.
>
> Also last month, officers launched an on-ground response to the
> hit-and-run deaths, undertaking a day of action targeting dangerous
> driving, with more than 70 motorists stopped, including one allegedly
> watching a video on their phone behind the wheel.
>
> The operation came after a further incident saw two pedestrians, a boy
> and a woman, seriously injured, sparking a roadblock protest in Kings Heath.
>
> Outlining the "sensible" aim to reduce the number of collisions,
> currently around 400 per year, where people are hurt or killed by 50 per
> cent by 2030, Mr Tranter said the longer-term goal of reaching a point
> where nobody is killed or seriously injured in collisions would be "one
> of the most challenging things this region has ever done".
>
> "In recent weeks, several unacceptable acts of road violence have led to
> needless deaths and serious injuries on our roads," he said. The outrage
> felt by communities is clear and justified."
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/crackdown-dangerous-driving-after-cyclist-deaths-302987
>

--
Spike

Today people in Birmingham came together to say "Enough is Enough"

Unfortunately, as far as the police are concerned, enough evidence is never enough for them to take action on offences against cyclists. This one, for instance, was last night so hasn't yet appeared on UpRide- this Corsa SH63 YMK was illegally across the unbroken white line in a dangerous position approaching a blind bridge crest. The MOT had also expired 3 weeks before. The following vehicle was even closer to the crest when overtaking and had to swerve very close to me to avoid collision at a closing speed of 60-70mph with an oncoming Volvo.

The immediately preceding oncoming vehicle, Mitsubishi Outlander WR60 YCU, was MOT-expired 5 months ago and displayed long lists of failed items on previous MOT tests. Despite all this, the response and action by LancsFilth will be zero. The Outlander will remain without MOT and may or may not get one when VED is due on 1.9.23, and the Corsa will likely remain without MOT at least until VED is due on 1.7.24.

They may decide to follow the example of many other Lancashire drivers, and go completely 'bare' without MOT, insurance or VED for years (my record is 6 years so far) The police are happy to come up with platitudes when engaged on a PR stunt as described above, but when it comes to action it's back to Idleness (or Corruption) as Usual.

https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/files/styles/main_width/public/ClosePassDualUWLCross-2Aug23.jpg

On 03/08/2023 05:07 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> A meeting of stakeholders has produced a new package of tougher measures to tackle dangerous driving in the West Midlands. The action comes to the grim backdrop of three cyclists and a pedestrian having lost their lives on Birmingham roads in May.
>
> A father of a two-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run while cycling on 16 May, weeks before a 12-year-old riding a bike was also killed, and a driver arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and being unfit to drive through drugs. On 29 May, a cyclist was killed in a further hit-and-run before a four-year-old boy was killed after being hit by a driver in Erdington a day later.
>
> The fatalities prompted the West Midlands' Walking and Cycling Commissioner Adam Tranter to make an urgent plea for action to "turn the tide on aggressive driving in Birmingham".
>
> At a subsequent meeting requested by Mr Tranter — chaired by West Midlands mayor Andy Street and attended by the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, the councillor responsible for transport at Birmingham City Council, Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, as well as Transport for West Midlands' executive director — tougher measures for dangerous drivers were agreed upon, with the cited aim to "target the most dangerous drivers" with "relentless enforcement of the rules of the road".
>
> Among the agreed measures, the speed limit on main A-roads in the city will be cut from 40mph to 30mph, enforced with an increase to the number of average speed cameras in the city.
>
> Pedestrian crossings are to be reprogrammed to give people more time to cross, while the police force said it would work to make it easier for road users to report footage of dangerous driving.
>
> A crackdown, called Operation Triton, will be launched at hotspots with extra police officers out combating dangerous driving, Birmingham Live (link is external) reports.
>
> The footage-reporting admission comes just months after an FOI request, submitted by Chris Smith, revealed that of 286 reports of careless, inconsiderate, or dangerous driving around cyclists considered by West Midlands Police in 2022, only one resulted in a prosecution.
>
> In response, the force accepted it needed to review the way reports are managed, an update again acknowledged in the findings of last month's meeting.
>
> Also last month, officers launched an on-ground response to the hit-and-run deaths, undertaking a day of action targeting dangerous driving, with more than 70 motorists stopped, including one allegedly watching a video on their phone behind the wheel.
>
> The operation came after a further incident saw two pedestrians, a boy and a woman, seriously injured, sparking a roadblock protest in Kings Heath.
>
> Outlining the "sensible" aim to reduce the number of collisions, currently around 400 per year, where people are hurt or killed by 50 per cent by 2030, Mr Tranter said the longer-term goal of reaching a point where nobody is killed or seriously injured in collisions would be "one of the most challenging things this region has ever done".
>
> "In recent weeks, several unacceptable acts of road violence have led to needless deaths and serious injuries on our roads," he said. The outrage felt by communities is clear and justified."
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/crackdown-dangerous-driving-after-cyclist-deaths-302987

The City of Birmingham used to be a citadel of driving.

I expect that once the car factories closed down (due to nothing so much
as their appalling productivity and quality control), the city council
started taking its present dog-in-the-manger attitude. Envy and
mean-spiritedness are very unattractive qualities.

Ledner_Sirrah | 13 posts | 5 hours ago
3 likes
Injuries and deaths by senseless driving is bad enough, but hit & run incidents are absolutely shocking. The very least you could do after potentially killing or injuring someone is check up on them.

I sincerely hope that due justice and punishment is meted out to those responsible.

Look on the bright side: they Police don’t go after law-breaking bicyclists
either.

Sauce for the goose, etc.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Today people in Birmingham came together to say "Enough is Enough"
>
> Unfortunately, as far as the police are concerned, enough evidence is
> never enough for them to take action on offences against cyclists. This
> one, for instance, was last night so hasn't yet appeared on UpRide- this
> Corsa SH63 YMK was illegally across the unbroken white line in a
> dangerous position approaching a blind bridge crest. The MOT had also
> expired 3 weeks before. The following vehicle was even closer to the
> crest when overtaking and had to swerve very close to me to avoid
> collision at a closing speed of 60-70mph with an oncoming Volvo.
>
> The immediately preceding oncoming vehicle, Mitsubishi Outlander WR60
> YCU, was MOT-expired 5 months ago and displayed long lists of failed
> items on previous MOT tests. Despite all this, the response and action by
> LancsFilth will be zero. The Outlander will remain without MOT and may or
> may not get one when VED is due on 1.9.23, and the Corsa will likely
> remain without MOT at least until VED is due on 1.7.24.
>
> They may decide to follow the example of many other Lancashire drivers,
> and go completely 'bare' without MOT, insurance or VED for years (my
> record is 6 years so far) The police are happy to come up with platitudes
> when engaged on a PR stunt as described above, but when it comes to
> action it's back to Idleness (or Corruption) as Usual.
>
> https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/files/styles/main_width/public/ClosePassDualUWLCross-2Aug23.jpg
>

--
Spike

On 03/08/2023 10:03 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> Ledner_Sirrah | 13 posts | 5 hours ago
> 3 likes
> Injuries and deaths by senseless driving is bad enough, but hit & run incidents are absolutely shocking. The very least you could do after potentially killing or injuring someone is check up on them.
>
> I sincerely hope that due justice and punishment is meted out to those responsible...

....particularly to those who drive dangerous motor vehicles with
non-functional safety equipment (such as windscreen wipers)?

The footage-reporting admission comes just months after an FOI request, submitted by Chris Smith, revealed that of 286 reports of careless, inconsiderate, or dangerous driving around cyclists considered by West Midlands Police in 2022, only one resulted in a prosecution.
...
Also last month, officers launched an on-ground response to the hit-and-run deaths, undertaking a day of action targeting dangerous driving, with more than 70 motorists stopped, including one allegedly watching a video on their phone behind the wheel.

So: 70 drivers stopped in one day when the police looked.
But only 286 reports "considered" in a year - 0.4% of which resulted in a prosecution.
Say that again - not a 0.4% conviction rate, a 0.4% prosecution rate!
Target: reduce the 400 collisions leading to KSIs to 200 by 2030.

Great ambition - make no mistake that's an extremely tall order. I mean - given they're effectively not enforcing the law currently (see above). Especially if they're just trying to do that with a few more police, 40 -> 30 mph speed limits plus more average speed cameras.

Hope they're also full speed ahead on their City Segments plan (link is external) and serious active travel infra works if they're honestly hoping to improve those numbers!

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> The footage-reporting admission comes just months after an FOI
> request, submitted by Chris Smith, revealed that of 286 reports of
> careless, inconsiderate, or dangerous driving around cyclists considered
> by West Midlands Police in 2022, only one resulted in a prosecution.
> ...
> Also last month, officers launched an on-ground response to the
> hit-and-run deaths, undertaking a day of action targeting dangerous
> driving, with more than 70 motorists stopped, including one allegedly
> watching a video on their phone behind the wheel.
>
> So: 70 drivers stopped in one day when the police looked.
> But only 286 reports "considered" in a year - 0.4% of which resulted in a prosecution.
> Say that again - not a 0.4% conviction rate, a 0.4% prosecution rate!
> Target: reduce the 400 collisions leading to KSIs to 200 by 2030.
>
> Great ambition - make no mistake that's an extremely tall order. I mean
> - given they're effectively not enforcing the law currently (see above).
> Especially if they're just trying to do that with a few more police, 40
> -> 30 mph speed limits plus more average speed cameras.
>
> Hope they're also full speed ahead on their City Segments plan (link is
> external) and serious active travel infra works if they're honestly
> hoping to improve those numbers!

Due to lack of resources the police in E&W are closing more than a million
cases of burglary and theft every year with NFA after the initial report.

This is the time to ask the question as to whether the police can afford to
follow up on ‘cases’ where a driver has not collided with a cyclist.

Freeing up these officers would mean they could be deployed on at least a
basic follow-up to a report of a burglary or theft, as it is known that
once burgled, the chances of a repeat of the crime is a staggering 25%, and
effective action can be taken to mitigate against this, especially when
police officer offers advice on countermeasures.

At present, conviction rates are very low.

It’s time the police stopped pussy-footing about with non-crimes like
‘close passes’ and tackled real issues.

--
Spike

Disappointed but not surprised to hear the outgoing (not a moment to soon) chief of Polis Scotland say on the news last night that a proposal they are considering will mean only two traffic cars on the roads at night across the whole of Scotland. While not even kidding on by making the same noises as Midlands in stating they will make it easier for people to report dangerous driving.

What a green light to all the boy racers and drink drivers. Is it any surprise driving standards have sunk so low.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Disappointed but not surprised to hear the outgoing (not a moment to
> soon) chief of Polis Scotland say on the news last night that a proposal
> they are considering will mean only two traffic cars on the roads at
> night across the whole of Scotland. While not even kidding on by making
> the same noises as Midlands in stating they will make it easier for
> people to report dangerous driving.

> What a green light to all the boy racers and drink drivers. Is it any
> surprise driving standards have sunk so low.

Bicyclists will also get the green light, although the colour doesn’t
matter to them, and take advantage of the situation - but in reality how
would anyone tell the difference, bicycling standards having fallen so low?

--
Spike

ChrisB200SX | 1612 posts | 2 hours ago
2 likes

It's a shame the Police couldn't "relentlessly enforce the rules of the road" before numerous innocent people were killed in one month.

=========
The sad gammons would then bleat about the "war on the poor motorist".
Funny that they are all from the "hang them and flog them" brigade until it comes to THEM breaking the law, then it's all SO UNFAIR.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> ChrisB200SX | 1612 posts | 2 hours ago
> 2 likes
>
> It's a shame the Police couldn't "relentlessly enforce the rules of the
> road" before numerous innocent people were killed in one month.
>
> =========
> The sad gammons would then bleat about the "war on the poor motorist".

> Funny that they are all from the "hang them and flog them" brigade until
> it comes to THEM breaking the law, then it's all SO UNFAIR.

That’s exactly the line taken by peabrain bicyclists when they bleat that
they only kill a handful of footway pedestrians every year and it would be
SO UNFAIR if the law relentlessly clamped down on them as a result of the
killings.

But, what’s sauce for the goose…

--
Spike

mctrials23 | 136 posts | 1 day ago
7 likes

Well thats depressing. Halving the number of collisions by 2030 would be the hardest thing they have ever done.

Then again, they are probably right because there is an overwhelming number of people on the roads who hate cyclists and genuinely seem to enjoy reading about stories where they have been hurt.

===========----

Just read the gammon's comments in the Daily Distress when a cyclist gets killed.