News

New figures show that one of Kent Police’s most powerful enforcement tools is proving a huge success. The motorcycle team’s unmarked bike, which is fitted with a video camera, provides such good quality evidence that it’s helping officers obtain virtually a 100 per cent conviction rate for offences such as dangerous driving, careless driving and speeding.

Figures for the first 18 months since the bike was introduced show that 84 motorists were caught breaking the law. That’s 84 people who probably wouldn’t have been detected otherwise for offences like dangerous driving, careless driving and speeding.

Officers believe that lives have been saved as a result.

Kent Police released the figures at the same time as video footage from the bike shows the dangerously high speeds that two convicted motorbike riders reached recently. One involved a man who rode at twice the legal speed limit in a residential area.

About two people are killed on Kent’s roads each week with many more seriously injured. Kent Police takes a zero tolerance approach to serious traffic offences and its tough stand produced terrific results recently. The unmarked bike was used during a road safety campaign and for the first time, there were no deaths and serious injuries in that time.

Head of Roads Policing, Chief Inspector Roscoe Walford, said: "I like to think that the use of the unmarked bike contributed to that great result. Meantime, I would warn motorists to think about the consequences of being caught committing an offence. At best you risk a fine, ban or an increase in insurance premiums. At worst you risk a criminal record, losing your job or going to jail".

"And think about the consequences to yourself and your family of being involved in a serious collision. You could end up in a wheelchair, kill yourself or someone else".

"We regularly see the consequences of speeding and the lives that are wrecked as a result".

"The message is simple. You have nothing to fear if you ride and drive within the law but you have plenty to be afraid of if you break the law. And as the video from the unmarked bike proves, you will be caught and the courts will deal with you".

Some convictions as a result of video footage obtained from the unmarked bike include:

• A 25 year old man received a 6 months ban and was fined £565 at Canterbury magistrates’ court after riding at dangerous speeds in a residential street in Canterbury, East Kent (second incident on DVD).

• A 47 year old man was banned from riding for 14 days and fined £465 at Dartford magistrates’ court after being found guilty of careless driving. He rode at 80mph in a 40mph limit and 49mph in a 30mph zone where he rode across a pedestrian crossing whilst a person was waiting to cross. The incidents happened along an A road in Swanscombe, North Kent.

• A 46 year old man was given three penalty points and fined £60 after reaching speeds of up to 90 mph along a country lane in Mereworth, West Kent (first incident on DVD).

The unmarked bike has proven so successful that Kent Police plans to buy another one.

The news comes on the back of new legislation that creates the offence of causing death by careless driving. Carrying a maximum five years prison sentence, the amended Road Safety Act closes the loophole where there was insufficient evidence to prove dangerous driving.

Kent Police works hard around the clock to ensure that Kent’s roads remain safe for drivers, passengers and the community generally.

Officers work closely with their road safety partners to improve driving and riding and reduce casualties. The emphasis is on safety, public reassurance and maintaining community confidence in our education and enforcement work, and where appropriate, using powerful enforcement tools like the unmarked bike and the helicopter.

Nearly half of those offenders detected by use of the motorcycle were refered to the new RIDE scheme.
 

RIDE stands for Rider Intervention Developing Experience. It seeks to change driver attitude and addresses the behaviour of those motorcyclists whose riding could be described as thrill or sensation seeking and also those who by the very nature of their riding could be defined as anti-social or careless, thereby attracting a criminal prosecution.

These figures apply to both cars and bikes. So it's not just the motorcyclist that's been targeted for a change.

Kent Police safety partners include Kent County Council, Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership, Kent Fire and Rescue Service, Medway Council and the Highways Agency.