Road closure after an accident.

[ianess]

Why is it necessary for the police to close off roads for sometimes hours at a time after a serious accident?   Obviously investigations have to be made but I've read that our police take the longest time in the world.

[KebabMeister]

Usually if the accident is a fatal or an accident where injuries are of a very serious/fatal nature then they have to conduct a full investigation.  This will include measure distances, objects from the accident, and many other issues.  Specialist Police (can't remember their name) will either check the vehicles in situation or at the garages they're taken to (tyre pressures, suspension components, whether the vehicle appeared road worthy at time of accident, anything else that might have contributed to the accident etc.)

As for why the British Police take the longest in the world... well... maybe they're too busy catching people speeding than to send people to an accident?!

[sddsddean]

All of what KM says is true, BUT sometimes I think they like ********* everyone about. A couple of months ago a truck went off the M20. No one seriously hurt, no dangerous chemicals on board, it was clear of the motorway, yet Kent police kept it closed for most of the day causing chaos!! In my job, we are sometimes called out to scenes of accidents to help clear up or if the road surface needs replacing. You can be called in hours after the accident and then have to wait more hours whilst the police finish up; but they are usually standing round doing naff all! Its so annoying, as these jobs normally happen in the evening/night when there is less traffic about to cause less congestion. But 'cos the road is closed there is still tons of traffic about!! AARRGGHH!!

[slimjim]

I have a friend (more an acquaintance) who is a traffic cop. To be frank, they all just love the whole blues'n'twos thing. As soon as an incident occurs, they all pour out of the motorway services and go and cone off as much road as they dare. The hundreds of thousands of man hours lost to their inability to work faster is a testament to the culture that we have created around the police force. Crash your car on the motorway and dozens of them will turn up. Ring 999 to report someone trying to break into your garage (as I have had to do twice in recent months) and they don't even turn up.

[KebabMeister]

Slimjim, I think you've hit the nail on the head.  I used to live opposite a leading fireman and he used to get peeved because if the police ever saw them out on an emergency then the police would follow them just for the 'fun' of blues 'n' twos etc.

[dennilson]

All down to a need for scene preservation, if you could imagine any serious incident initially would be treated as a crime scene and must have trained specialists to attend. These are Accident Investigation Police. I assure you these people are specialists, and are investigating the matter impartially and expertly. As for the last comments re the Police using their emergency equipment to annoy people or follow fire engines then it would appear that some of the subscribers have been watching too much of the BILL