Force Orders 1936

X No. 28. Date 27thMarch 1936. TO BE CIRCULATEDTO ALL RANK3OF THE C ESH2RECONSTABULARY. 6.0. 11/37. Gd �'4k! 1737. STATISTICALINVESTIGAT20NOF ROAD TRAFFICACCIDENTS As from the 1st Apri11936,the Policeere requiredto furnishto the Ministryof Transporta reportof the oircumstances o� everyaccidentk owato the Policeto have occurred,on and after the datenamed,in a street,road,or publicplace,which involvesa vehioleor horseand resultsin (a) tha deathof, or ( ) personalinjuryto any person. The expression"Road"includesa road in a pask to whiah the publiohave accessat the time of the accident. Reportswi11 be on a specialForm (F.S.90)and are to be compiledin aacordanoewith a Book of Instructions,a specimenof which is fo , d dherewithfor everymemberof the Foroe. A sma11supplyof ReportFormsis forwardedand wi11 be supplemented,in due courseby a furthersupply. A copy of an Instructional%morandum on the subjeat,issued by the VorneOffice,is forwardedfor the iuformationof �ach Superintendent, who wi11 axplainthe purportthereofto the membersof his Di isioa. The Reporton Form F.S.90,wi11 be in additionto the ordinaryreportto be rendered,as at present,to this Offioe. The Formswi11 be m de out in duplicate,both copiesbeing sent to thie Office,where they wi11 be oonsecutivelynumberedand submittedto the Ministryof Transport. The informationto be suppliedon the ReportForm F.8.90 wi11 be mostlyinformationwhichwould normallybe obtainedby the Policein conneotionwith a fatalor personalinjuryaccidentreported to them,but certainadditionalparticulars,which may not b� usually obtained,are to be 3ncluded. In this connection,the Chie�Constabledoesnot daeireto imdulyperturbConstablesin obtainingtha informationrequiredto completethe Forms. He considersthat, in the majorityof cases,the - 2 - / y cL6 d, f, 9 Formscan be correotlyand oompletelyfilledin �ran the particulars whioh Constablesobtainfor their ordiaaryreporton Form 1.23. If the additionalpartioularsrequiredoa Form F.S.90cannotbe obtained or are not available,the spaceon the ReportForm shouldbe merked "N.A."(notavailabla) Wherean accidentprovesfataland an inquestis he1d,or 3n aaseswhere person ,arechargedwith offencesas a resultof circinnstancesarisingin connectionwith ac dentS,theReportis to be held back untileltherthe inquestis held or criminalproceedings ere concluded. This ie necessarysincethe Polioavieswas to circumetanoesand causaaof accideatmay be changedin tha light of evidenoegivenin Courtand/orthe resultof proceedingsor inquest. . Vihenit becomeanecessaryto correcta Reportalready submittedthiswi11 be done by the submissionof a�urther copy of the Formmarked"SupplementaryReportecontainingon1y suchentries as wi11 show o1earlythe correctionto be made undertha partioular item or itemsa��ectedby the change. spocialattentionis drawnto the follov .ngpoints :- It wi11 be necessaryto ensurethata Constablewho witnesses an aocidentinvolvingpersonalinjury,or who arrivosfirstat the sceneof suohaa accident,takes specialnote of any features such as weatherconditions,conditionof road surface,indication of positionor the directioatakenby a vehicleetc.,whichmay be transitory,or for an,yotherreasonmay not be readily ascertainab1eafterwards YYhena statementis takenfrom a witness,the veaiousfeatures whiah are to be embodiedin the ReportForm shouldbe borne in mind, and an endeavourshouldba made to elicitany information which the witnesscan supplyin a shapewhichwill readilyenab1e the appropriateentriesto be made on the ReportForm. The usualprecautionsshould,of course,be observedin takinga statementfrom any persoaagai.nstwhom it may be necessaryto bring proceedings. 1Vherean accidentinvolvingpersonalinjuryis reportedat a PolioeStationaud the oirctaustances(e.g.the lightness of the injuryor the accountgiveno� the circumstances)are suchthat furtherPoliceenquirieswouldnot in ordinarycoursebe deemed neaessary,the personreportingthe aacidentshouldbe asked for as many of the requiredparticularsas possible. If it appearsthat furtherparticularscan be obtainedwithout undue expenditureof Policetime (e.g.by am interviewwith any otherpersonsinvolvedor by a visitto the sceneof the accident) stepeshouldbe takento obtaintheseparticulars. Where additionalparticularscannotbe obtainedeasilyaud quicklythe correspondingspaoeon the ReportFormmay be marked "N.A."(notavailable) -3- In fillingin partioularsunderheadings�orwhich code letterand numberav providedia the Instructions,the appropriate code lettersaidnumbershoulda1one be givea,exceptwhere further detailsaye asked�or if available. Care must ba takanthat the "X" or approprlatecode letteraad aumberare insertedc1earlyend correctlyagainstthe appropriate heading. If thereis ao entrywhich is appropriate,the words "No appropriatentry"shouldbe insertedand a briefnote o� circums+ances given. Featuresfor which no spaceis providedare not raquiredand shouldnot be mentioned. The ReportForm F.5.90contains nfor ationwhichwi11 sufficefor reportson Tirai379 (Roads)i.e. accidentsdua to road defeots. No furtherroportson Form 397 are requiredafter1st April 1936. Reportson Form 398 (Aoada)regardingdefeotsin Public S rviceVehiclesor GooqsVehiclesvri11be furnishedto this Office as heretoforefor transmissionto the TrafficCo mmissioners.