can I obtain the police report of a local RTA ?

[fourpointsixgt]

with the freedom of information act allowing us to access more information, is this the sort of thing we, the public can get. I was told by the council that, due to data protection, it's unlikely that I can. Anyone applied for, and got an accident report?

[anonymous-user]

You will likely run up against the exemption provided for by sections 31(1)(g) and (2)(e) of FOIA.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/sectio...

Why do you want the info?

[LoonR1]

No chance, you'll be able to identify those involved too easily. They cost around £100 each as well.

[Cat]

If you aren't one of the parties involved in the accident, or acting on their behalf, you would not be able to get a copy of the accident report. You may, depending on what information you are after, be able to obtain some details about collisions (but probably not a specific accident) on a particular stretch of road using an FOI request.

Cat

[ging84]

funny how different things are in america
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[LoonR1]

ging84 said:

funny how different things are in america
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Errrr yeah, thre are one or two other minor differences too, not least the fact it's a completely different country.

[Grenoble]

LoonR1 said:

Errrr yeah, thre are one or two other minor differences too, not least the fact it's a completely different country.

Yes, but the US has a lot we can learn from...

Rather than treating it as the wayward great-nephew that has gone awry, as the UK often does...

[LoonR1]

Grenoble said:

Yes, but the US has a lot we can learn from...

Rather than treating it as the wayward great-nephew that has gone awry, as the UK often does...

The vast majority of those learnings will be to do the complete opposite.

[Grenoble]

LoonR1 said:

The vast majority of those learnings will be to do the complete opposite.

They get some things right, but we will go off topic.

[Dwight VanDriver]

If I rememeber correctly then if you are one of the parties involved
under the Evershed(?) procedure you can apply for details of the accident report
which will only contain personal details, sketch, damage. These will only be released
after all criminal procedings have been completed.

Other than a party involved consult a Solicitor to whom details can be released,

AS stated very costly.

dvd

[herewego]

I'm not interested in names but it seems a shame we're not allowed to learn from other's mistakes. What's the reason for the secrecy, what could go wrong?

[anonymous-user]

Aircraft accident reports are published, and often make good instructional material for pilots and air traffickers.

This is a resource issue, however. Aircraft accidents are few in number. All but the most trivial are investigated by the AAIB. Car and bike accidents are numerous, and few are investigated by the police. Basic accident reports, with no expert analysis, would be of little teaching value.

[herewego]

I thought all accidents involving death were investigated. I'd prefer to see an accident investigation unit, it seems to have worked for aircraft. I'm not sure the police are the right people to do it having seen a crash investigation series.

[10 Pence Short]

Accidents involving life threatening injury or death are typically investigated forensically by a specialist unit, who produce a report.

Less serious reported incidents might be investigated less thoroughly by non-specialist officers.

Rather than sharing specific reports to teach people, we tend to rely on the press and the justice system. Whether that's the right approach or not is open to question.

[fourpointsixgt]

Breadvan72 said:

You will likely run up against the exemption provided for by sections 31(1)(g) and (2)(e) of FOIA.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/sectio...

Why do you want the info?

Because there was an incident where some parent couldn't keep his 3 y/o toddler under control and ran out into the road, the poor driver who hit the kid must have been driving very slowly as the kid wasn't seriously hurt, but now the council are introducing 20mph limits along this road. So I was curious as to the exact reason for the new speed limits.

[Furry Exocet]

herewego said:

I'm not interested in names but it seems a shame we're not allowed to learn from other's mistakes. What's the reason for the secrecy, what could go wrong?

What do you expect the report to contain? Most minor injury reports are completed very quickly and you won't get a lot of information on them. KSI (killed or seriously injured) will be investigated by a dedicated unit and these investigations can last for months and months.

[10 Pence Short]

fourpointsixgt said:

Because there was an incident where some parent couldn't keep his 3 y/o toddler under control and ran out into the road, the poor driver who hit the kid must have been driving very slowly as the kid wasn't seriously hurt, but now the council are introducing 20mph limits along this road. So I was curious as to the exact reason for the new speed limits.

In which case your issue is not with the Police report but the decision making mechanism at the local authority. You should find most if not all the information used in this process is publicly available through them.

[herewego]

Furry Exocet said:

herewego said:

I'm not interested in names but it seems a shame we're not allowed to learn from other's mistakes. What's the reason for the secrecy, what could go wrong?

What do you expect the report to contain? Most minor injury reports are completed very quickly and you won't get a lot of information on them. KSI (killed or seriously injured) will be investigated by a dedicated unit and these investigations can last for months and months.

I was thinking about local reports of local incidents so a description of the exact location, the directions people were travelling, reasons determined for the incident. If you later travelled through the same location you could take extra care if it was appropriate.

[herewego]

fourpointsixgt said:

Breadvan72 said:

You will likely run up against the exemption provided for by sections 31(1)(g) and (2)(e) of FOIA.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/sectio...

Why do you want the info?

Because there was an incident where some parent couldn't keep his 3 y/o toddler under control and ran out into the road, the poor driver who hit the kid must have been driving very slowly as the kid wasn't seriously hurt, but now the council are introducing 20mph limits along this road. So I was curious as to the exact reason for the new speed limits.

This doen't come across too well to me. It sounds like you think the roads should be kguaranteed 100% free for drivers to travel at high speed through a residential area.

[fourpointsixgt]

herewego said:

This doen't come across too well to me. It sounds like you think the roads should be kguaranteed 100% free for drivers to travel at high speed through a residential area.

Not at all, it's a main road currently 40, but near a primary school, so twice a day when all the parents are double parking on the school run the traffic pretty much grinds to a halt, it was at one of these times when the accident happened. So why would a 20mph limit make any difference when the cause of the accident probably wasn't excess speed.