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Do the police have any right to close roads for up to ten hours following a fatal accident?
When a fatal accident occurs the police close the road for up to ten hours to investigate a possible 'crime scene’, but a serious crime, if any, is seldom detected. This may be all right where there are alternative routes, but here in the Highlands of Scotland closing a road can mean a hundred mile detour, or even the isolation of a community. Have the police any right to close a road for this purpose? If not what should we do?
Asked on 2 May 2011 by IH, via email
Answered by
Honest John
Yes. This debate has continued for many years. The policy was instituted by Richard Brunstrom when he was ACPO Head of Road Policing. I have campaigned against the stupidity of extended ‘Crime Scene’ forensic closures on the grounds that by diverting large volumes of traffic onto unsuitable roads, more death and destruction can occur. Similarly, drivers and passengers held up for six hours in the same place can suffer severe discomfort and can even die. In their favour the police only close a road when they absolutely have to in order to establish the true cause of a death and determine blame for the insurers.
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