Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely and Leader of the Isle of Wight Council Lora Peacey-Wilcox have called on Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police Chiefs to take positive action to address dangerous driving across the Island.
Roads not as safe as they could be
In a letter to Chief Constable, Olivia Pinkney, and Police and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones, they said there was a growing consensus amongst Islanders that Isle of Wight’s roads were not as safe as they could be and expressed their concerns about the lack of a dedicated Road Policing Unit (RPU) on the Island.
“Dangerous driving is increasingly becoming a problem”
They said,
“We feel that dangerous driving is increasingly becoming a problem, along with related issues such as illegal exhausts. We are both receiving regular emails from Island residents and parish and town councils complaining about the dangerous driving of an irresponsible minority.
“One of the reasons why we are getting more complaints – across the Island – may be because we have not had a dedicated Road Policing Unit for some time. Our Road Policing Unit is rolled in with the Island’s armed response team, which spends much of its time supporting serious operations. Road Policing Units perform a valuable role not only in identifying dangerous driving, but also in education and cracking down on disqualified drivers.
“We are of course grateful that teams come over from the mainland Hants. and IW Force to support us, but it is not the same as our own force on the Island. Now that our policing levels are increasing on the Island, we ask you to give serious consideration to the need for a dedicated Road Policing Unit on the Isle of Wight.”
They added,
“The reality is that nowhere outside London needs a Road Policing Unit as much as the Isle of Wight.”
News shared by the office of Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Robert Seely, in their own words. Ed
Image: police_mad_liam under CC BY 2.0
