Feel let down
Hi, hate to criticise the police, but feel let down tonight, having fell victim to a fallen tree. I was unable to prevent 4 more accidents after my own. The accident happened on the boundary of Staffordshire, and Cheshire border, due to speedy response between myself, and a fellow victim, we managed to move the tree to prevent any serious accident occuring. It took over 20 minutes before there was any police presence, and then there was confusion who's responsibility it was, had there been a more serious accident, i would hate to think what might have happened. Once the police turned up, and made sure no one was seriously injured, they did not secure the area around the tree, warning signs etc. I think there needs to be a review on cross border responsibility. I would rather see a speedy reaction between both counties, than none at all. The response from the police, "was let your insurance company deal with it". most victims of the accident had no idea what to do next. Either the police were not trained to deal with the situation, or if no crime was committed, were not bothered, suggesting, lack of training, or police undermanning, or crime figures. As tax payers, we hope the services we pay for, help us when we need them, tonight was not one of them. rant over.
Comments
Hope your okay
Hi Mark, hope your ok. Any damage to your self or car?
It's not a matter of boundaries is it, it's a matter of ethics and safety. So they'd have to cross the line, into another county, big deal, it's not like it's dukes of hazard, where once across the county line, that's it, there's nothing the police could do.
Out of interest, which police force turned up? Staffs or Cheshire?
Serious damage
Do not wish to discuss too much information, but car in a bad way, no physical injuries, will deal with it.
There is hope yet
After the let down last night, it was heartening to find this morning that my insurance company, car hire, and repair company have been very efficient, and helped me to get back on the road quickly. After only 10 minutes from contacting Direct line, Enterprise car hire contacted me to say they would loan a car to me, was then contacted by the vehicle repair garage to confirm pick up of my car, and further texts with numbers to call during its repair. How refreshing to know that some organisations can be both efficient, and professional.
Share
You might want to share that last bit with the city council!
Explanation, of sorts...
You'd be suprised, it is a bit like The Dukes of Hazard when you reach a border. Obviously, there has to be a border somewhere, and we live only a couple of miles from the Staffs/Cheshire one. If you travel out past Leek, then you get the Staffs/Derby one etc...
That said, Police are Police wherever you go, and any Police Officer can initially deal with a call wherever they are, should they come across an incident. The problem you have when you call the Police at a border, is that your call is routed to a 999 station. The operator then checks a mapping system to check as best they can, who covers the area where you are.
Now, lets say your incident happened on Liverpool Road, Kidsgrove, where the border changes. The operator would have sent it to Kidsgrove to deal, and you could have had an Officer with you, in ideal conditions, in a couple of minutes. However, if the operator had seen the incident as Cheshires area, and routed the call to them, a unit would have been dispatched from Congleton, Crewe or even Northwich. In this case, Kidsgrove would know nothing about the incident, even if they were the nearest station (unless a switched on operator called then manually and told them about it or asked for their assistance).
All Police Officers are trained to deal with minor accidents, and we are guided by the Road Traffic Act as to what is and what isn't reportable to the Police. On face value, a tree falling into the road needs clearing by the local council, and Police would assist with the traffic chaos caused. If someone hit the fallen tree, then we would report it if someone was injured, but if it was straight forward and the only damage was to the car (and I don't wish to sound flippant or demeaning - I'm simply trying to explain in general terms) then the owner would have to contact their insurance to sort the problem out, after all, we pay them enough!
It's taken for granted that most people know what to do after an accident, asuming everyone reads their insurance documents, with all the small print, and the Highway Code, but of course, we don't!
I've ranted on enough now, but if there's anything further I can help with, I'd be more than happy to go through the incident with you, and help you out any way I can - just give me a call or email.
Hope this helps
Glyn
I appreciate your comments
I reIIalise boundaries can cause some problems, but surely there must be a plan in place where the nearest officers could be contacted, if not there should be some sort of budget where cross county cooperation is in place. As for the incident itself, myself and another victim of the tree tried to prevent any further accident, unfortunately we had no illuminated markers or such, the officer in charge was more interested in taking vehicle numbers, than the tree in question, or peoples welfare. I have family and friends in the police, but still feel let down, this incident happened when most insurance companies were closed, if not all. I realise that the general public think that the police have all the answers, and are able to do more than their brief, but when I asked for some sort of warning against the offending tree, it was not heeded. It maybe a good idea if all motorists carry a " if in accident, please call card", whatever time of day. I may seem cynical about the police in my statement, I am a firm believer in the police, and always will be, just feel on this occassion, I presumed too much..
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