Hmmmm. Three sorts of lies, with the last being statistics. I note his claim to the "holistic" approach, and many users on this forum complain that the police don't respond enough to other dangerous driving practices. I like the idea of examining accident statistics fully and looking at how better road design can produce reductions; problem, sometimes, I guess, is that better road design encourages higher speed. When I first started driving (30 years ago?) Most traffic ran (on A roads) at 50, with some at 40: now it's 60 with some at 50. I know cars have improved too...
It might be difficult to argue with the reduction in casualties that the force are claiming. Do they spend proportionally more on traffic policing than other forces?
Tim{P}
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For someone who is said to be speed obsesed I like the line.
'Lives would be saved, and injuries avoided if we stuck to our guns so we did, through thick and thin.'
My question is what kind of guns is he talking about? O.K I'm being silly.
I was impressed about his holistic aproach and how he seems to have made the roads a lot safer. He recognises that it is not about catching people who speed, but on reducing the likely hood of crashes.
It sounds like he is doing a good job, judging by the statisics. Just wonder what people who disagree with what he says will post?
Why have bad accidents fallen - if they indeed have. One way to find out would be to look at cetain routes where the extra policing has occured and the causes of bad accidents before and after. Unfortunatly I have to assume the Chief Constable's telling the truth.
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Torque means nothing without RPM
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"It has created substantial and long-running controversy, mostly from drivers who had got used to breaking the law with complete impunity - they now find themselves with points, or banned, and they don?t like it. And boy, do they want all the rest of us to know about it! "
Can't see him winning many friends on pepipoo but I agree with him.
No I am not an angel having been caught twice!
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Isn't there a substantial difference between the police figures and the hospital figures. I only read this a few days ago and can't remember where
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I read often, only post occasionally
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Now, what's the old phrase . . . ah yes, "too good to be true". Is there anything more beguiling than an isolated percentage figure, unencumbered by all the additional information and perspectives you need to evaluate such a claim properly?
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I sent a message of complaint. Those statistics are invalid, due to all things being inequal.
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It calls to mind the phrase, "lies, damned lies and statistics."
I also seem to recall that North Wales has the lowest figures in the UK for the detection of crime. Still, you can't have it all ways.
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"I also seem to recall that North Wales has the lowest figures in the UK for the detection of crime"
In fairness their audited figures are probably the best in the country. The above I think was an attmept by a red-top to discredit Brunstrome's troops. From what I understand at least one of his three Divisions undertake to attend every crime that's reported to them, and the stats to stack up against those of the British Crime Survey.
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In fairness their audited figures are probably the best in the country. The above I think was an attmept by a red-top to discredit Brunstrome's troops. From what I understand at least one of his three Divisions undertake to attend every crime that's reported to them, and the stats to stack up against those of the British Crime Survey.
It's interesting to read the above. I don't read any of the tabloids so I could only have got it from the Telegraph or the Internet.
I'd better not take such a jaundiced view of his exploits in future.
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"We have not concentrated on fixed site cameras (though we have a few - thirteen to be exact), but rather we?ve gone for dangerous routes (some up to 20km in length) and dangerous behaviours".
Interesting - you would think from the Press's view of Richard Brunstrom that there was a speed camera round every corner in N. Wales. But the above is what they should be doing, and also, as again they seem to be, putting plenty of resource into crime prevention and detection. Getting priorities right matters more than statistics in the long run.
Richard Brunstrom's real test is of course what his officers think of him: the police force is a people business llke any other - and being labour-intensive, more so than many. If they are all pulling together as a team and truly achieving what the blog says (thanks very much for finding it PU), then they are in my view doing a good job and deserve our support.
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I have a personal view of him - having met and spoken to him. What is interesting is that further down that page is a blog from one of his middle managers who covers a moderately sized town in the area. Worth a read in isolation really.
www.north-wales.police.uk/en/blogs/viewblog.asp?UI...7
There are some seriously good motorcycling roads in his area though.....
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This one gets my back up, tarring all motorcyclist with the same brush, there are nutters in cars, trucks, on push bikes etc as well!!!!
www.north-wales.police.uk/en/blogs/viewblog.asp?UI...2
I posted a very strongly worded reply in "Your comments" to the one about banning motocycles from national parks, never heard a thing!
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=44195&...f
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I've spent a few weekends in North Wales this year and the police presence is much more visible than anywhere else I've been.
Road behaviour seems better as a result.
This is just my view, so please don't shoot me - but - there's laws of how we should behave on the roads.
I think there's no excuse for speeding around town and in most 40 limits. Nor is there any need to phone or text when driving - this requires the concentration to be diverted from driving (1 saw some pink fluffy dice "driving" a 3.5 tonne lorry with a phone in each hand the other day, barely looking at the road). Speeding will make an accident worse and not concentrating will make the accident more likely. I don't like the idea that I'll be driven into by someone who thinks the laws don't apply to them, knackering my insurance, harming me or mine and quite likely causing considerable inconvenience.
Seat belts I'm not too bothered about, if they crash, that's their problem.
But the reason so many people speed and use the phone while driving and is that there's realisitically no chance of getting caught.
You get the feeling that isn't the case in North Wales, and I'm all for that.
Don't try and flame me, because I understand the old arguements about speeding - I'm clear in my mind how I see it. I know I'll disagree with some opinions.
-- You know, it\'s not like changing toothpaste
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I live in North Wales & imho, Mr Brunstrom gets quite a bit of unfair stick.
In contrast to the idea that his approach is catch-all , nannying & authoritarian,
the actual reality is that his more focussed approach (targetting dangerous roads
& 'profiling' ) obviates the blanket use of speed cameras (although there are quite a few
speed camera signs, there aren't many speed cameras) - only one(?) ' fixed' & several mobile
- all seem to used in sensible places.
North Wales Police , although being primarily a rural type of force, have had to cope with
a huge rise in rural town/village anti-social yobby behaviour these past few years , with officers
having to cover (by urban standards) very large patches. It seems his more 'scientific' approach
is prompted by this need to use his limited resources skillfully.
~woodbines
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I live in Flintshire and regularly have to travel past the mobile camera vans, what he hasn't mentioned is that they also regularly use the ANPR camera vans as well. Usually you'll see 3 or 4 cars that have been pulled over by the officers working with the vans. That's a shocking No who could possibly be driving whilst banned or with no Tax or insurance.
One one stretch of the A548, which is a Dual Carriageway, the safety partnership by working together, with a regular presence of the Mobile camera vans and ANPR vans, and by reducing it to one lane in sections to create Right Turn areas and reducing the speed limit from 70 to 50 [a extremely unpopular action when first introduced] , have reduced the No of serious accidents requiring Casevac by the Air Ambulance from 4 over a 18 month period to 0.
I have to travel past 2 of the fixed cameras, and in the last 5/6 years, I can honestly say that I've only ever known one of them be live, and only the once. So so much for Mr Brunstrom being speed mad. Visit the Camera Partnership web site for a list of were and when the camera vans will be located, this information is also in the local newspapers and radio.
And having had to deal with Officers from the force several times, I can honestly say that they give a First class service, and I for one am proud of them!
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I too live in North Wales and whilst I'm not a great fan of Mr Brunstrom I am not wholly against all of his traffic related activities. As mentioned above, ANPR is used extensively and it appears to be very successful with the recovery firms kept busy taking seized vehicles away.
On the other hand, in this area we have a horrendous problem with helmetless youths riding one, two or even three up on stripped down full motorbikes, mopeds, mini motos etc., using cycle paths and other restricted areas without any concern for pedestrians or residents.
Are North Wales Police interested? Are they hell. Yes on occasion they will appear when a resident calls to complain, but most of the time we don't even get a response.
What makes it worse is that other forces use their helicopters or off road bikes to catch these idiots, yet North Wales don't seem interested in being pro-active.
I'm sure if Mr Brunstrom's home area was being plagued in a similar manner at all times of the day and night something would be done about it.
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