Northamptonshire Police
Minutes:
Matt O’Connell
Matt explained that there had been a lot of media around the changes to the Highway Code but this had muddied the water somewhat. There were only 8 changes that affected anyone.
The first change was the hierarchy of road users, putting most responsibility on the biggest vehicles who were likely to cause the most harm.
Crossings – the old way was for vehicles to give way to pedestrians if they were actually on the crossing. Now the vehicle should give way to a pedestrian waiting to cross. Matt stated he had hoped drivers would have given way anyway.
There were now definitive distances required for passing horse riders and cyclists. They were still ‘should’ rather than ‘must’.
Cyclists negotiating a roundabout were now advised to stay in lane 1 – this could mean a car in Lane 2 could be in conflict.
Carl stated that a pedestrian at, for example Mereway or Barnes Meadow roundabouts, with 4 lanes, would have right of way. Matt did acknowledge the rules did not always fit all circumstances and vehicles should give way when it was safe to do so.
Jatish stated he had experienced being tail-gated which was very unsettling. Matt stated that there was little that could be done without dashcam evidence but to ensure that you always manage the space between hazards and if needed, to increase the reactionary space.
Drivers parking on double yellow lines and blocking a safe view was another issue brought up. Matt responded that the only parking legislation police could look at was obstruction. By all means call it in, but calls were graded on threat, harm and risk and there may not be able to be a response, but at least the issue would then be known. Cars parked fully on a pavement were classed as an obstruction.
John stated he had witnessed several instances of people riding Voi scooters on the pavement and some by people who were not old enough to have a driving licence. Also there was a parking bay in Abington Street for scooters but it was not permissible to ride them there. Matt responded that there were a number of police operations looking at scooter use, not just Voi but private scooters as well. Voi did a lot to manage their scooters and people needed to use a legitimate account, although some were allowing others to use their account. The police had a really good relationship with Voi and accounts that were misused would be suspended. However, this came down to availability of staff to do this. Also anyone can report misuse and bad behaviour directly to Voi through their website. All scooters had a 4 digit number on them, also report date/location/time. They could then see which account it was linked to and take action. It could be difficult to see the numbers clearly but if the location and time given was accurate it was still possible to work out who it was.
Carl sated that every time he came into town there was a scooter on its side on Harleston Road on the pavement. Who’s responsibility was it to collect it? Matt stated that riders had an obligation to take a photo of the scooter when they left it to show that it as parked properly. Probably someone else has come along and knocked it over. Riders also received a discount if they took the scooter to one of the proper parking bays. The whole business model was around being able to pick up and leave the scooters locally. Sometimes it was necessary for Voi to move the scooters around to more central locations.
Eleri asked if there was a time limit for reporting driving offences and what sort of offences. Matt explained that the quicker a report was made the better, preferably within 1 or 2 days. That gave time for the initial investigation to be complete by day 10 and the expectation that the driver received a letter by day 14. You should be prepared to go to court but it had not been necessary to send anyone yet. Eleri added that if a person perceived an incident was motivated by hate she would advise reporting it as a hate crime as it would be stronger than traffic to the Control Room.
Debbie stated she had a good response when hit by a driver when out cycling. The video footage from the handlebar mounted camera had been vital.