Taxis and buses in quarter of Brighton and Hove crashes
The Argus!A quarter of crashes on the streets of Brighton and Hove this summer involved buses and taxis, police have revealed.
The city’s most senior traffic policeman released the figures after his appeals for “restraint” on the roads provoked anger among professional drivers earlier this year.
Inspector Phil Clarke is now renewing his calls for responsible driving to help cut the number of deaths and serious injuries on city streets.
From June to August taxis were involved in 9% of the collisions reported to Sussex Police’s road policing unit, while 17% involved buses.
In the same period 60 taxi drivers were stopped for offences including ignoring road signs or red traffic lights and using hand-held mobile phones at the wheel.
Inspector Clarke said: “My last appeal provoked an angry response from taxi and private-hire drivers, who felt they were being singled out for special attention when in fact they saw themselves as responsible and professional drivers.
“The figures for offences clearly indicate that although the majority of ‘cabbies’ are responsible, a minority are not.
“I have asked the city’s taxi and private hire industry for support in encouraging responsible and safe driver behaviour.”
Inspector Clarke praised Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company, Stagecoach and the city council for supporting his appeal.
He said said action taken against drivers for offences was justified.
To many, the enforcement of traffic law is seen as petty, hitting the innocent motorist, and not as important as dealing with crimes such as burglary.
“Traffic law exists to instil some discipline on the roads and to reduce the risk of injury or death.
“The primary role of the police is to protect life and I make no apology for the enforcement of traffic law in the city.”
A third of collisions involved cyclists or pedestrians. Inspector Clarke – who had included the two groups in his previous appeal – said that in about half of cases “pedestrian error” accounted for injuries to people on foot.
“Pedestrians and cyclists, who are particularly vulnerable anyway, need to be more vigilant and take more care.” He pointed out the road policing unit’s ability to solve crimes such as burglary, robbery and assault by investigating traffic offences. Last year 40% of its arrests were crime rather than roadrelated.
He said: “They would be in a position to focus much more on crime if less of their time was taken by dealing with collisions and the subsequent investigations.”
Ted Kemble, a Brighton and Hove City Council cabinet member and a taxi driver for 16 years, said: “On the whole I think the standard of driving within Brighton and Hove is fairly good.
“You are always going to get the idiots that run risks. I wouldn’t be prepared to comment on standards of driving of a specific group. I do have concerns about cyclists that ignore red lights.”
