Police commissioner responds to M65 patrols, speeding and safety debate

Lancashire’s elected Police and Crime Commissioner has commented on traffic patrols, road safety and action against danger-drivers following recent incidents and debates about the M65, where a number of fatal incidents have happened.

Commissioner Clive Grunshaw was contacted for comment following calls by a number of Lancashire councils for a safety review of the M65. Local authorities including Pendle have raised worries about the loss of lighting, lane designs and alleged flooding problems around concrete central barriers. Separately, retired Lancashire police officer Paul Brooks recently claimed police traffic patrols had suffered as a result of funding cuts.

The Police & Crime Commissioner is a political role decided by local elections. It is officially described as the public’s voice in policing. The commissioner is responsible for setting the strategic priorities for the police and holding the force’s Chief Constable to account.

Commenting on the M65 debate to the Local Democracy Reporting Service,  Mr Grunshaw said: “Lancashire Constabulary has a road policing unit, which is dedicated to patrolling the county’s roads and dealing with offences such as speeding and drink or drug-driving, as well as attending scenes of serious and fatal collisions.

“Additionally, the force regularly carries out numerous proactive operations targeting those on our roads that put the public at risk.

“Dangerous driving comes up time and time again as a huge concern for our communities, and it is a priority to make our roads even safer for the majority of law-abiding motorists.

“I will continue to work together with the Road Safety Partnership and hold the Chief Constable to account to ensure that road policing,  from our motorways to our rural areas, is working to keep people safe.”

The commissioner role came into effect in 2012 as part of nationwide changes to police force accountability by the then Conservative and Lib-Dem coalition government.  It replaced the old police authorities system which typically included a number of elected political councillors and other independents, such as magistrates.

Recently in response to the M65 debate, former Lancashire police officer Paul Brooks, from Bamber Bridge, said today’s motorways are not policed properly because of police force financial pressures. And he said today’s Highways Agency officers represent ‘policing on the cheap’ with few real powers. Many speeding drivers simply ignore them, he believes.

However, he also believed the loss of lighting on the M65, ‘inadequate drainage’ and its mix of two and three-lane sections were concerns too.

Mr Brooks spoke after Pendle councillor Mick Strickland, who works for Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service and has attended M65 traffic accidents, helped gain support for a motion calling for no more lights to be removed from the M65 and investment to bring lighting back where it has been removed. Pendle Council is to contact National Highways, Lancashire County Council, the Secretary of State for Transport and local MPs about the issues.