Road traffic collision - Devon and Cornwall Police, January 2018

In early January 2018, Devon and Cornwall Police responded to reports of a Mercedes car being driven the wrong way along the A30 dual carriageway on Bodmin Moor. A roads policing officer drove alongside the vehicle on the opposite carriageway in an attempt to alert the driver to the danger he was causing, and pulled over at a junction ahead of him. However, the officer’s efforts were unsuccessful and the car collided head on with another vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle suffered minor injuries, but his two passengers sustained life changing injuries. The driver of the offending vehicle was not injured. He failed a roadside breath test for excess alcohol, and was later charged with causing injury by dangerous driving and drink driving.

During this incident, the emergency services communication system was out of commission due to a damaged mast, leaving the officer involved with no means of communicating with the control room.

The Investigator examined the police procedures for dealing with contraflow driving incidents and the actions taken by the attending officer. The reasons for the communication failure and the contingencies that were employed to deal with it were examined. The camera footage from the police patrol car was reviewed, and witness accounts were considered.

In our opinion, the officer’s actions were reasonable in light of the very challenging situation, exacerbated by the failure of the communication system and the fact the officer was the only roads policing officer on duty in the area at the time.

During the investigation there was no indication that any police officer may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or committed a criminal offence.