Archive - Tuesday, 6 April 2004


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Guide for accident victims from police and RAC

A LEAFLET giving advice to victims of road accidents has been launched by Wiltshire Police with the support of a leading motoring organisation.

The constabulary has teamed up with the RAC to launch the Road Collision leaflet.

Police officers will issue the leaflet at the scene of an incident to victims of road collisions.

The leaflet will provide a comprehensive guide for any motorist involved in a road collision that the police become involved in. It includes advice regarding recording details of the incident, useful contact numbers, information about procedure, vehicle recovery and details of RAC's free 24-hour collision helpline.

Sgt Dave Melvin of Wiltshire Constabulary said: "We know only too well that road collisions are traumatic for those involved.

"It is difficult to take everything in at the time the police attend.

"This leaflet is intended to improve our service and support to road collision victims by providing information that those involved often find themselves seeking later.

"We believe it will be useful to many at a time of need."

RAC spokesman Paul Burgess said: "We are obviously delighted to be working on such a worthwhile initiative.

"Both RAC Legal Services and Wiltshire Constabulary are committed to providing a quality service to motorists, particularly at times of distress, making this a natural partnership," he added. RAC figures show that in the UK, on average someone dies in a road accident every two-and-a-half hours and another ten are seriously injured in the same period.

Motorways are statistically the safest roads, carrying 15 per cent of traffic and accounting for three per cent of accidents.

The RAC says that drivers who often exceed the speed limit have three times the accident risk of those who speed infrequently.

More people have been killed in roads since the Second World War than the number of British soldiers killed on active service during the war.