Police Officers Shouldn't Cause Road Traffic Accidents, They Should Prevent Them

Two police officers who rolled a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo through two gardens in Greater Manchester may face prosecution and criminal charges if it is found they acted improperly.

The unnamed officers impounded the yellow 54-reg rally replica after suspecting its driver was drunk. Having detained him on suspicion of drink driving and seized his car, the officers decided to drive the car away themselves rather than wait for a recovery vehicle to remove it, as is normal procedure.

Within minutes, they had lost control and ploughed the car through two gardens in the suburb of Hale Barns. It came to rest on its side. Luckily, and I mean luckily, noone was seriously hurt or killed in the accident. Both officers, who have nineteen years' experience between them, are said to be severely shocked by their ordeal, and have yet to be spoken to by their superiors.

This incident has sparked a wave of fury in the comments boards of those online newspapers that allow readers to add their thoughts after browsing the story. Not only could the officers have endangered the lives of other road users and anyone that might have been in the gardens, which is the most important point, but they have also written off the suspected offender's car, which will doubtless give them a legal battle at some point down the line as well.

According to one reader, the strenuous tests that police officers must pass to become advanced motorists have been relaxed in previous years. Traffic officers like the two constables in question regularly have to drive at great speeds while remaining in control at all times. Yet this turbocharged Evo VIII, capable of an electronically-limited 156mph, was apparently too much for them to handle.

The Daily Mail, somewhat sensationally perhaps, described the incident as a 'joy ride' even though an investigation into the officers' conduct has not yet occurred. Although it is likely that the temptation to try out such a coveted piece of kit became too much for them, we must give them the benefit of the doubt.

But it does raise questions as to the accountability of our police forces, who are supposed to protect us from road traffic accidents, not cause them. There is undeniably a mildly comic element to the tale, but the tone of the reports would have been quite different if the officers had been slightly less fortunate.

They have been suspended from driving duties with immediate effect, and will have to explain their actions to Greater Manchester Police's professional standards unit in the very near future.