Braintree: Tackling anti-social driving

In an effort to improve road safety and highlight the effects of anti-social and dangerous driving, our Roads Policing Unit officers headed to Coggeshall Road on Monday 30 June.

Throughout the day, they detected 53 offences on our roads – far too many.

Driving safely is crucial and matters because it saves lives, something we take very seriously and it keeps traffic moving smoothly, reducing congestion and road rage!

Safe driving reduces the risk of accidents, which can cause serious injuries or fatalities and protects not only the driver but also passengers, pedestrians, and other road users.

Mr Adam Pipe, Head of Roads Policing, said:

A safe driver sets a good example to others, especially young or new drivers.
Adopting responsible habits contributes to a culture of safety on the roads.
You may not think that your driving is anti-social or dangerous, but if you take a risk and fail to stop at a junction, cause other drivers to take evasive action through your speeding or overtaking, put your passengers in harm’s way because you don’t check they are wearing a seatbelt or you’re trying to make a phone call while driving, then you are driving anti-socially.
Anti-social driving has legal consequences - fines, license suspension, or even imprisonment. Being involved in an accident due to reckless behaviour can result in criminal charges.
It may not seem to be anti-social driving, but some people take risks by driving unroadworthy vehicles. One vehicle had a cracked windscreen. A second windscreen had a tint only allowing 17% of light to pass through – the legal limit is 75%. Both impaired the driver’s visibility.

A key safe driving tip is to always wear your seat belt – every trip, every time. However, on the day, 28 people weren’t wearing theirs. It’s not how long the journey is that matters: even on short trips or in the back seat, wearing a seatbelt significantly reduces the risk of injury or death in a crash.

Similarly, we routinely tell drivers that using a mobile phone while driving can significantly impair your reaction time and reduce your focus on the road ahead. Eight drivers were caught using their mobile phones whilst driving, appearing to concentrate more on their mobiles than their driving. Instead, we’d encourage you wait until your journey has finished as the safest time to talk.

Driving an unroadworthy vehicle not only endangers the driver and passengers but also other road users and it’s illegal. Two cars were not MOT’d and we seized 6 uninsured vehicles.

We’d ask everyone to play their part in keeping the county’s roads safe and eliminate anti-social driving by improving their driving decisions and road behaviour.

So far this year, 31 people have died on roads in Essex.

We continue to work alongside partners in the Safer Essex Road Partnership to work towards our joint ambition of Vision Zero, the elimination of deaths and serious injuries on Essex roads by 2040 and united in the belief that even one death is too many.

Help us reduce road collisions and casualties in Essex and make our roads even safer. Report instances of poor and dangerous driving through Safer Essex Roads Partnership's Extra Eyes initiative.

More than ever, irresponsible, dangerous and illegal road behaviour is being recorded by road users. Through Extra Eyes this footage can be sent to, and reviewed by, an investigator within Road Policing at Essex Police.

Find out how by visiting Safer Essex Roads Partnership website.

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