IPCC recommends Avon and Somerset improve high speed police driver training

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-34416326

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High-speed police driver training should be improved, a report has concluded after a woman was seriously hurt by a police car on a 999 call.

Laura McEwan, 33, sustained "significant" head injuries, when she was hit in Bristol last November.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report recommended Avon and Somerset police "addressed the shortfall" of fast response trainers.

But it said the "speed and manner" of the officer involved was "reasonable".

Ms McEwan, who was celebrating her birthday, was hit by the marked police car as she crossed a road on the evening of 29 November.

She was taken to the Bristol Royal Infirmary where she remained in intensive care for several months.

Guido Liguori, from the IPCC said: "This was an unfortunate accident in which a young woman suffered serious injuries.

"The investigator has found no case to answer for the driver of the vehicle.

"We have however recommended that Avon and Somerset Constabulary ensure that they have enough driver trainers and that all response drivers receive refresher courses every five years."

The IPCC added a five yearly reassessment for police drivers, required to drive at high speeds, is to become mandatory when the Road Safety Act 2006 comes into force later this month.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary has accepted the police watchdog's recommendations.

The police offer concerned, named in the report as PC A, had his standard response driver training five years and seven months before the crash.