Home Office seeks to protect officers with new road traffic legislation

5 November 2020

The Home Office has confirmed that it will seek to give police better protection when they stop vehicles after a series of incidents in which officers have been seriously injured by drivers making off during a police stop.

Tim Rogers, deputy secretary of West Midlands Police Federation and the national Federation’s response and driver training lead, has been heading a Federation campaign to amend two sections of the Road Traffic Act 1988 which would give police officers the authority to require drivers to turn off their engine when stopped and also to demand, where appropriate, that all occupants leave a vehicle.

“I have been advised that the Home Secretary wants the Home Office to lead on this and potentially have it introduced as an amendment to the Police Powers and Protections Bill which is due before Parliament early next year,” says Tim.

“This is a major step forward and a considerable success for this campaign. Sadly, we are seeing more and more incidents in which officers are put in a position of vulnerability due to this flaw in the legislation

“While it is currently an offence to fail to stop for a constable in uniform, once the vehicle has stopped, the obligation on the driver is satisfied. We can ask people to provide information and documents but this means officers have to get out of their own vehicle to make the request or check any documents produced. This means they are then in an incredibly vulnerable position since the driver can make off, putting officers’ lives at risk.

“Having the fairly general power to stop vehicles is meaningless if we can’t engage with the driver. A power to instruct the driver to turn the engine off, remove the keys, open the window or door and get out does appear to be a necessary, yet long over-due, addition to the legislation.

“Clearly, police officers are currently vulnerable and they should rightly expect the Government to prioritise their safety and enshrine that in law.”

The Federation campaign called for:
• An amendment to Section 163 of the Road Traffic Act to extend the obligation on motorists to stop to an obligation to stop and switch off the engine
• An amendment to Section 164 of the Road Traffic Act to require occupants to get out of a vehicle when required to do so by a police officer.

In support of the changes to legislation, Tim collated a series of testimonies from officers who have been involved in incidents in which drivers have made off from a police stop.

Tim has already led a successful Federation campaign for a change in the law that will allow police officers’ special training and expertise to be taken into account in the law rather than their driving being judged against the standards of the careful and competent driver. That change to legislation is part of the Police Powers and Protections Bill.