Sad for everyone this one...

[Bluepete]

There are plenty of references on the net to this case, just Google Pc Janet Wynne Jones.

I just read the article BluePete provided a link to and IMO she seems to have got lucky.
Ok i am sure there is more to it than expressed in the article, but i was always under the impression that a police vehicle/ambulance was allowed to go through reds with lights/sirens on, but then they are still culpable for their actions in the event of a collision.

Assuming the victim was driving in a legal manner, then i fail to see how the WPC isn't guilty of manslaughter at the very least.

Another tragic case that seems hard to reconcile with the first one. I read on one site that a witness estimated the speed at 60mph. The reliability of that estimate must be open to debate: I don't know, I wasn't there.

An altercation over a bus fare. Did someone really have to die over what was probably less than a pound?

Originally Posted by ASM-Forever

I just read the article BluePete provided a link to and IMO she seems to have got lucky.
Ok i am sure there is more to it than expressed in the article, but i was always under the impression that a police vehicle/ambulance was allowed to go through reds with lights/sirens on, but then they are still culpable for their actions in the event of a collision.

Assuming the victim was driving in a legal manner, then i fail to see how the WPC isn't guilty of manslaughter at the very least.

From what I have seen of the emercency services they generally cross red lights with extreme care, this PC was obviouly going to fast.

Not having a go at bluepete (or any other police here) but there it does seem to be rather difficult to prosecute the emergency services for making mistakes that would land many of us "normal" people in jail.

On another note what specialist driver training do normal police recieve?

[Bluepete]

Originally Posted by tomjones2

On another note what specialist driver training do normal police recieve?

She will have done a three week course, two weeks of normal driving followed by an assessment. If that is passed, a week of response driving, ie, blues and twos. However, there are three students per vehicle, so you only get 2 hours driving per day.

Good. She now realises the gravity of performing such a stupid manouvre can (and did) have on people's lives. The more people we have on the road who think of the consequences of thier actions (all of us inlcuded) the better it will be for all.

Some of you guys really need to get out and see a little more of the world if you believe that any UK goverment is draconian or that the pips are being squeezed out of individual freedom in the Britain of today. Really I do find such comments astounding.

She should of been banned for life. By putting her in prison it's just wasting taxes. Why not just force her to work on past retirement age, putting money into the country rather than taking it away.

She killed someone but seems to know it was a bad thing so why not make her begin to repay her debt by doing something useful.

Originally Posted by BluePete

She will have done a three week course, two weeks of normal driving followed by an assessment. If that is passed, a week of response driving, ie, blues and twos. However, there are three students per vehicle, so you only get 2 hours driving per day.

Was she class 1 or 2?
I remember a bronze commander from the London ambulance service saying that the MET have stopped training their pursuit drivers to class 1 as it was not financially viable with their insurance.....
..... I think that he was talking out of his rear though....

[Bluepete]

Caddy, the standard driving authority is only a pass or fail. It's only at advanced level, ie traffic cops, that class of pass comes in. At least that's the way it used to be in GMP. Now, even the advanced car course is pass or fail. However, some people who exhibit very high standards do get a class one pass. It's a free entry into the driver training school when shift work gets too much!
I've no plans to become an instructor for many years!