Dear Mr Stephenson,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 9317

I write in connection with your request for West Mercia Police information
which was dated and received on 1^st February 2018.

Your request will now be considered in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act).  You will receive a response within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject to
the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party.  In some circumstances West Mercia Police may be unable to achieve
this deadline.  If this is likely you will be informed and given a revised
time-scale at the earliest opportunity.

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of the
information you request.  If this is the case you will be informed and the 20
working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment from you. If
you chose not to make payment then your request will remain unanswered.

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write
or telephone the Information Compliance Unit quoting the reference number
above.

Yours sincerely

Mrs Louise Fellows

Information Compliance Assistant

Information Compliance Unit

Hindlip

Warwickshire Police & West Mercia Police

[1]Putting Victims FirstPutting Victims First
Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police are committed to providing the
best possible service to our communities and putting victims at the heart
of everything we do.

For information on services and support given to our victims by us and our
criminal justice partners visit our websites:

Warwickshire Police: [2]www.warwickshire.police.uk/puttingvictimsfirst
West Mercia Police: [3]www.westmercia.police.uk/puttingvictimsfirst

References

Visible links
2. https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/putti...
3. http://www.westmercia.police.uk/puttingv...

 
Dear Mr Stephenson,
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 9317
I write in connection with your request for information which was received
on 1^st February 2018.  Please find below the response to your request:
I understand your Chief Constable has said that guidelines which give
motorists a buffer of 10 per cent on the speed limit should be scrapped
following a rise in road deaths.  I ask to be provided:
 
1. The guidelines
 
REPLY: Please be advised that these are available online:
[1]http://www.npcc.police.uk/documents/FoI%...
 
2. The evidence that the rise in death is related to speed, as opposed to
(for example) increased road usage or distracted-driving
 
REPLY: No specific recorded information held.
The information is not held in the format that it has been requested.
However, in order to assist, please see the attached data supplied which
relates to all road death incidents in the West Mercia Police area for the
period 2015 to 2017 inclusive.
The collision factors are those identified by the officer completing the
collision report. They can select up to 6 per incident and are based on
their initial opinion at the time of the incident. Many of the factors
involved are speed related.
 
3. All information considered that gave rise to this statement the buffer
of 10 per cent on the speed limit should be scrapped following a rise in
road deaths.
 
REPLY: The debate centred around clarity of message over speed limits
being limits and whether the so-called buffer has led to drivers believing
they have a different level above the limit. It needs to be emphasised
that this was a conference exploring a new approach.
 
4. The number of excess-speed offences recorded in 2017
 
REPLY: 66646
 
5. At what speed below a speed limit it is deemed to be inappropriate;
liable to prosecution for, as an example, driving without due care and
attention
 
REPLY: No specific recorded information held.
The entire manner of driving and the circumstances of the case would need
to be considered if the intention was to raise a prosecution for driving
without due care and attention.
 
6. The considerations given to the responsibilities of motor manufacturers
and servicing / MOT bodies to ensure that the speedometers fitted to
vehicles are accurate.
 
REPLY: The law for car speedometers in the UK is available online as
follows
The [2]UK law is based on the [3]EU standard, with some minor changes. A
speedo must never show less than the actual speed, and must never show
more than 110% of actual speed + 6.25mph. So if your true speed is 40mph,
your speedo could legally be reading up to 50.25mph but never less than
40mph. Or to put it another way, if your speedo is reading 50mph, you
won’t be doing more than 50mph but it’s possible you might actually only
be travelling at 40mph.
 
These are the embedded links
<[4]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/... section 19>
 
<[5]http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp2... Reg 39>
 
As these form part of type approval, motor manufacturers always build in
the overead, due to the way speedometers work when the tyres wear they
rotate more times over a given distance therefore the speedometer can only
overead.
 
 
7. The anticipated increase in fines that would result
 
REPLY: No specific recorded information held.
 
8. The number of police cars used by the constabulary, to include whether
the Chief Constable has use of a car / driver and
 
REPLY: West Mercia - 708.
The Chief Constable is allocated 1 x fleet vehicle
 
a. Whether any of these vehicles are fitted with tracing/GPS or tracking
devices
 
REPLY: Yes
 
b. The review process and
 
REPLY: The force is unsure of what this part of the request relates to.
Please contact us with clarification should you wish to progress this part
of the request.
 
c. The number of above-speed limit incidents and
d. The number of officers disciplined and / or prosecuted for speeding
 
REPLY: There were 37 officers who received Notices of Intended Prosecution
in relation to speeding. Of these, 19 incidences occurred off duty and 3
occurred on duty. There are a further 18 instances where it is unknown
whether the officer was on duty or off duty. In this data, there may be
officers that appear more than once.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is as
accurate as possible.
Your attention is drawn to the below which details your right of
complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write
or telephone the Information Compliance Unit quoting the reference number
above.
Yours sincerely
 
Mrs R Williams
Information Compliance Unit
Warwickshire Police & West Mercia Police
PO Box 55
Hindlip
Worcester
WR3 8SP
01905 331545 / 331565
 
West Mercia Police in complying with their statutory duty under sections 1
and 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed
information will not breach the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
However, the rights of the copyright owner of the enclosed information
will continue to be protected by law. Applications for the copyright
owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of the attached
information should be addressed to The Force Solicitor, West Mercia Police
Headquarters, PO Box 55, Hindlip, Worcester, WR3 8SP.
COMPLAINT RIGHTS
Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?
You have the right to require West Mercia Police (WMP) to review their
decision.
Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to
discuss the decision with the person that dealt with your request.
Ask to have the decision looked at again -
The quickest and easiest way to have the decision looked at again is to
contact the person named at the end of your decision letter.
That person will be able to discuss the decision, explain any issues and
assist with any problems.
Complaint
If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
WMP made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information, you can lodge a complaint with WMP to have the
decision reviewed. WMP must be notified of your intention to complain
within 20 working days of the date of its response to your Freedom of
Information request. Complaints should be made in writing and addressed
to:
West Mercia Police Headquarters
Information Compliance Unit
Hindlip Hall
Hindlip
PO Box 55
Worcester
WR3 8SP
or
Email:  [West Mercia Police request email]
In all possible circumstances, WMP will aim to respond to your complaint
within 20 working days.
The Information Commissioner
After lodging a complaint with WMP if you are still dissatisfied with the
decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for a
decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.
For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at [6]https://ico.org.uk/ Alternatively, phone
or write to:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545745 if you prefer to use a
national rate number
Fax:    01625 524 510
 
 
 
 

[7]Putting Victims FirstPutting Victims First
Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police are committed to providing the
best possible service to our communities and putting victims at the heart
of everything we do.

For information on services and support given to our victims by us and our
criminal justice partners visit our websites:

Warwickshire Police: [8]www.warwickshire.police.uk/puttingvictimsfirst
West Mercia Police: [9]www.westmercia.police.uk/puttingvictimsfirst

References

Visible links
1. http://www.npcc.police.uk/documents/FoI%...
2. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/...
3. http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp2...
4. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/... section 19
5. http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp2... Reg 39
6. https://ico.org.uk/
8. https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/putti...
9. http://www.westmercia.police.uk/puttingv...