{"id":78367,"date":"2017-01-26T12:36:14","date_gmt":"2017-01-26T12:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=d119f52fa04511fddfc83be3a74273f6"},"modified":"2017-01-26T12:36:14","modified_gmt":"2017-01-26T12:36:14","slug":"speech-address-to-the-national-roads-policing-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=78367","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Address to the National Roads Policing Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Good morning.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m really pleased to join you for this year\u2019s National Roads Policing Conference.<\/p>\n

Last night I was at a road safety event in the House of Commons meeting some of those who have lost friends or relatives in collisions on the road.<\/p>\n

I also frequently meet bereaved families in my office in the Department for Transport.<\/p>\n

These meetings are never easy.<\/p>\n

Yet as I listen to people\u2019s stories, I am filled with respect for the job that you do.<\/p>\n

Often, you\u2019re the first on the scene.<\/p>\n

Often, too, you\u2019re the first to break the news of tragedy.<\/p>\n

Few can understand how tough that job must be.<\/p>\n

Yet all of us must be grateful that you are there to do it.<\/p>\n

With courage and professionalism.<\/p>\n

So I would like to start by saying: thank you.<\/p>\n

Thank you for being there in the aftermath of tragedy, and for supporting those tragedy touches.<\/p>\n

Of course, dealing with the aftermath of tragedy is only one part of your job.<\/p>\n

The priority is always to prevent it from happening in the first place.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why I was so pleased to see this year\u2019s conference theme: enforcement.<\/p>\n

And you\u2019re covering a lot of ground today and tomorrow.<\/p>\n

From older drivers, to emergency pursuits.<\/p>\n

In my speech I\u2019d like to focus on three specific areas of enforcement.<\/p>\n

Drink.<\/p>\n

Drugs.<\/p>\n

And mobile phones.<\/p>\n

Drink<\/h2>\n

First, drink driving.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s amazing how far we\u2019ve come on drink driving.<\/p>\n

50 years ago, it was tolerated, if not something anyone would be proud of.<\/p>\n

Today, most people agree that it\u2019s completely unacceptable.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s no coincidence that, during these last 50 years, deaths caused by drink driving have been cut by over 80%.<\/p>\n

80%.<\/p>\n

But not 100%.<\/p>\n

Yes, with the drastic fall in drink-related deaths over the last 50 years, it becomes more difficult to maintain the same rate of progress.<\/p>\n

But there is still more we can do before we get that number down further.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why, since 2015, in order for high-risk offenders to get their licenses back they\u2019ve had to prove they\u2019re not alcohol dependant.<\/p>\n

Another frustration that you\u2019ve told us about is drivers who fail a breathalyser test and then demand a blood test – in the hope that they\u2019ll sober up in the meantime.<\/p>\n

So we removed their automatic right to do so.<\/p>\n

Making enforcement easier.<\/p>\n

Of course, none of this is a substitute for people taking responsibility for their actions and their consequences.
\nThat\u2019s why our message during Christmas was that a second drink can double the chance of a collision.
\nOur message was complemented by police force\u2019s own initiatives.<\/p>\n

For example, Essex Police\u2019s campaign focused on how it feels to live with the consequences of drink driving.
\nAnd local forces carried out spot checks, deterring and catching drivers who were a danger to the public.<\/p>\n

Drugs<\/h2>\n

In 2015 we passed Section 5a of the Road Traffic Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This put drug driving on the same legal footing as drink driving.<\/p>\n

And we brought in set limits for 8 drugs, legal and illegal.<\/p>\n

And I am pleased to be able to give you the interim results for 2016.<\/p>\n

To put it in context, in 2014 there were 879 endorsements for drug driving.<\/p>\n

In 2016 \u2013 the first full year with the new law \u2013 there were 8,500.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 8,500 people you have caught and successfully convicted of drug driving.<\/p>\n

8,500 dangerous drivers taken off our roads.<\/p>\n

And, actually, the final total will be even higher, because the last 6 weeks of data aren\u2019t yet included in the figures.<\/p>\n

But that is approximately 10 times as many drug users who lost their licences in 2016 compared to 2014.<\/p>\n

People who were a danger to the public, banned from our roads.<\/p>\n

No doubt, lives saved.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a fantastic result.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s thanks to the efforts of road police officers up and down the country getting out and enforcing the law of the land.<\/p>\n

To support your work, we\u2019ve also provided \u00a31 million to police forces across England and Wales.<\/p>\n

That money has trained a thousand officers in gathering evidence of impairment caused by drugs. It\u2019s also paid for roadside swabbing equipment, so when you pull over a suspected drug user you can test them for cannabis and cocaine immediately.<\/p>\n

So our message to motorists is clear.<\/p>\n

Drive under the influence of drugs and there\u2019s a very good chance you will get caught.<\/p>\n

Mobile phones<\/h2>\n

But I also have another message for those minority of motorists with a scant regard for the law of the land.
\nIt\u2019s about mobile phones.<\/p>\n

Most of you would never think of using your mobile whilst driving.<\/p>\n

Talking. texting. checking updates.<\/p>\n

You know that it\u2019s a serious crime which destroys lives.<\/p>\n

But for those motorists who don\u2019t understand this, we\u2019re increasing the penalties.<\/p>\n

From March (2017), it\u2019ll cost 6 points on your licence.<\/p>\n

And the fixed penalty fine – doubled.<\/p>\n

So our message to anyone thinking about using their mobile whilst driving is simple.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a message that we\u2019ll be reinforcing with a hard-hitting THINK campaign.<\/p>\n

Earlier I mentioned the connection between social attitudes and the drink drive casualty rate.<\/p>\n

Put simply, an increased stigma means fewer deaths.<\/p>\n

So I want every motorist to understand that using your mobile behind the wheel is as socially unacceptable as drink driving.<\/p>\n

Or drug driving, for that matter.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we will not only penalise such drivers, but we will also educate them about the consequences of their actions.<\/p>\n

We want to work with police forces and with road safety groups to develop a practical model for education.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re determined to get this model right, including changing legislation if needed.<\/p>\n

Our role, as the government, is to support enforcement and the work that you do.<\/p>\n

So that we can continue to make progress on safer roads.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

But while legislation and statistics are crucial, the words can sometimes sound rather dry.<\/p>\n

You know better than anyone that every statistic represents a lost life and a devastated family.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s brought home to me every time I hold one of those meetings, or whenever I speak to a road police officer.<\/p>\n

Yet I also never forget that due to your actions, there are many people who have been saved from such tragedies.<\/p>\n

Each day and night of the year – whatever the weather – there are people who get to go home to their loved ones because the police are out on our roads.<\/p>\n

Enforcing the law.<\/p>\n

Protecting us from harm.<\/p>\n

So thank you, once again, for the work that you do.<\/p>\n

On behalf of the public, Parliament, and the government – thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roads Minister Andrew Jones thanks Roads Police Officers for their courage and professionalism following success in catching drug drivers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78367"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78367\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}