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Police Vehicles (Accidents)

Volume 897: debated on Monday 4 August 1975

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asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vehicles of each type are in the service of each police authority; how many of each type in each authority area have been involved in accidents in each year since 1970; how many deaths have resulted from such accidents in each of the years; and on how many occasions subsequent inquiry has shown the police vehicle driver to be at fault.

ForceCarsMotor CyclesOthers (including all Regional Crime Squad Vehicles)Total
Avon & Somerset35074179603
Bedfordshire1103528173
Cambridgeshire2061623245
Cheshire2744971394
Cleveland1321071213
Cumbria9754114265
Derbyshire10023159282
Devon & Cornwall4539038581
Dorset4642100188
Durham1682894290
Dyfed Powys992248169
Essex28491170545
Gloucestershire93118101312
Greater Manchester750792091,038
Gwent972146164
Hampshire371275192838
Hertfordshire2207579374
Humberside16525122312
Kent231299255785
Lancashire33871179588
Leicestershire12384148355
Lincolnshire11928149296
Merseyside30392103498
Norfolk7657145278
Northamptonshire1342649209
Northumbria30622221549
North Wales7453133260
North Yorkshire13171128276
Nottinghamshire22974120423
South Wales33951137527
South Yorkshire27231140443
Staffordshire222118182522
Suffolk1143080224
Surrey1474259248
Sussex362180136678
Thames Valley404108227739
Warwiskchire1306156247
West Mercia8035354469
West Midlands410153151714
West Yorkshire54548189782
Wiltshire1343786257
Metropolitan1,9864799613,426
City of London16212562
In the most recent full year (1973) for which records are available, the number of accidents involving police vehicles and the number in which a police officer was reckoned to be blameworthy were as follows:

Force AreaNumber of AccidentsPolice Blameworthy
Avon & Somerset373117
Bedfordshire14265
Cambridgeshire17167
Cheshire27883
Cleveland13162
Cumbria11156
Derbyshire240114
Devon & Cornwall394180
Dorset18685
Durham28479
Dyfed Powys5417
Essex310127
Gloucestershire178103

Police authorities' vehicle establishments are as follows:

Greater Manchester 1324107
Gwent13268
Hampshire311128
Hertfordshire256140
Humberside 210855
Kent385311
Lancashire 3872450
Leicestershire15158
Lincolnshire216104
Merseyside18141
Norfolk185120
Northamptonshire12261
Northumbria368118
North Wales12033
North Yorkshire265158
Nottinghamshire334115
South Wales29986
South Yorkshire 4198108
Staffordshire512172
Suffolk19980
Surrey16372
Sussex576233
Thames Valley486172

Warwickshire31889
West Mercia15360
West Midlands946358
West Yorkshire 5512185
Wiltshire12425
Metropolitan2,4391,295
City of London4316

1–5 As a result of reorganisation, figures for 1973 in these force areas are not available. The figures given are for 1972 and relate to the following force areas then in existence:

1 Manchester and Salford

2 Kingston upon Hull

3 Lancashire

4 Sheffield and Rotherham

5 West Yorkshire

The other information sought is not readily available.