You may have heard in the news recently of the police officer’s joyride that resulted in the tragic death of a grandmother, BBC news reports (source).
The police officer, named as PC Malcolm Searles (24), raced through busy streets in a marked panda car with his lights flashing at 104mph in a 40mph limit zone as children played on the streets. The officer was reportedly “showing off his high speed skills” to his father and his uncle, racing around for over an hour before he hit and killed the victim Sandra Simpson on the road side in front of her husband, driving at almost twice the speed limit of 30mph at the time.
The fact that the police officer was not on his way to an emergency has made the tragic incident an example of the recklessness that breaking road traffic laws can result in, with family describing the incident as an “abuse of his (the officers) position”, and the office branded an “immature boy racer”.
The mirror.co.uk has recently reported a similar story of the mechanics who took a supercar in for repairs on a reckless joyride after the owner discovered the footage of the journey on his onboard computer (source).
When the owner of the £30,000 Vauxhall Monaro checked the vehicles’ black- box style gadget, he was shocked at the terrifying view from the front of the car as he watched the mechanics tear through the streets when they were supposed to be fixing his leaky radiator. Fortunately no one appears to have been injured, and police are investigating.
It has been discussed in our recent articles the responsibility and duty of care road users have when behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. These stories are illustrative of negligence that have and can cause serious car accidents and subsequent serious injuries to the victims of negligent drivers.
It the law – legislation in the Road Traffic Act 1972 (source – opens as pdf) clearly outlines this.
We advise that if you have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence on the road, seek expert advice form an independent personal injury solicitor today. Usually road traffic cases are straightforward when it comes to proving who is at fault; but it is essential to get the right expert on your side who will fight hard for the compensation you deserve.
If you would like a free no obligation chat for more information, then please do not hesitate to contact the friendly staff here at The Injury lawyers; we are always happy to help and advise.
Click here for further information on road traffic accidents and claiming www.theinjurylawyers.co.uk/road-traffic-accidents.