This week's topics;

Roads Policing
- Safety Measures
- Other Measures Affecting Safety
- Construction and Use
- Driver Licensing
- Fixed Penalty System
- Forgery and Falsification of Documents

After last weeks mega effort this week we have just 6 chapters from Roads Policing to look at.

As Monty Python said ‘Luxury, sheer Luxury’ so what are the important things to remember from this week’s syllabus. The first thing to remind you is that as Road Policing has its own paper and is the smallest of the four Blackstone’s Manuals. That means page for page there is a greater likelihood that the bit you are reading will come up, than in any of the other three books. There are also some areas that are difficult to write questions about, so that narrows the examiners options still further.

The first chapter to look at this week is Chapter 7 Safety Measures, only a short chapter but one with a lot of potential question areas in it. First up are seat belts, a difficult subject to learn because it is all heights, ages, and positions within the motor vehicle concerned. My advice to you for this topic is to draw it out on a card. Draw a car and then position the passengers and drivers around making all the participants different ages, adding their height to the position and you will have something that will help you remember this complex piece of law.

The short section on Passengers on Motor Cycles contains one good testing area and that is about the direction the passenger faces while being carried on a motorcycle. Obviously we would like to see the passengers on motorcycles face the front, but that does not work for film camera men coving the London Marathon, or the Tour de France, consequently the law does not make any hard and fast rule about which way the passenger faces. If it was the driver, we might have different views. There are other restrictions placed on learner drivers carrying passengers, but we will get to that chapter shortly, and I prefer top keep this in order. The section on Speed exemptions for Police, Fire and Ambulance purposes is always a topical one, never out of the newspapers, and the section straight afterwards about proof of speed links well with other areas in the syllabus where corroboration is required either by law or in practice, so I would make sure you have a good understanding of this.

Next up is Chapter 8 ‘Other Measures Affecting Safety,’ there is lots in here for a good question writer. Remember to link the Wilful Obstruction offence to the Arrest Condition that allows arrest in circumstances where a highway is obstructed. As we have already discussed in this series of articles terrorism is likely to be high on the agenda again this year, and the section in this chapter about additional police powers is a good area to test Dates, authorities, and offences, make this a really good area for question writers. The section on Causing Danger is full of good topics to test, you may find it helpful to try to remember them by visualising each of them as circumstances that you might come across while on patrol. It is worth remembering too, the point made in the keynote that this offence is only committed if the defendant acts BOTH intentionally and without lawful authority.

As a school boy I learnt that it was during the time of King James 1st that football was banned from the streets. The Highways Act of 1980 not only prohibits football but now includes any other game, but only if a user of the highway is annoyed. It is this section that includes the great line ‘Allows filth, dirt or lime or other offensive matter to run or flow onto the highway from any adjoining premises,’ covers a multitude of sins that does.

The section on off road driving is well worth knowing, it contains a lot of areas that could easily be tested, including a statutory defence. Don’t forget too that this links with a power to seize a motor vehicle that is being used under these circumstances. Section 59 Police Reform Act 2002.

Builders skips can be a very confusing topic, and one that I would recommended you taking some time to learn. This is a much tested area, and one that is easy to write a good question about. It may be best to draw or write it down in a picture form because that would help you learn the subject. There is an interesting defence, and also a Police Power both of which could well be tested. The power is an interesting one in that the request to remove the skip from the highway must be made in person, a telephone call will not do!!

The ‘Construction and Use’ Chapter is full of important and easily tested content. The section on Tyres is as complex and difficult to understand as the section we looked at earlier this week about seatbelts, but well worth having a good look at. The section on Police Powers to Test Vehicles is an interesting one, in particular the section on Testing and Inspection of vehicles on premises. It contains times and conditions, which makes it a really easy area for a good question writer. 48 hours for the notice to be given by hand and it must be received at least 72 hours before the test is carried out if it is sent by recorded delivery. Remember too the power is only given to a Police Officer in UNIFORM.

It is worth pointing out the difference between Headlamps and Position Lamps. It is the time they are to be used. Head lamps during the ‘Hours of Darkness,’ while Position lamps are between ‘Sunrise and Sunset’ or ‘During conditions of seriously reduced visibility.’

The ‘Quitting’ offence is an interesting one too, in that to not commit the offence the driver has both set the handbrake and ALSO turn off the engine. If either one is not done the offence is complete unless there is someone who is in a position to take charge of the vehicle. That would rule out someone asleep in the rear or too drunk to drive. Don’t forget too, there are some exemptions to this, and they include police, fire, ambulance, and rescue services.

The next chapter, Chapter 10 Driver Licensing contain some Police Powers that you could add to your Police Powers list, and get to know well. Power to demand Date of Birth is historically a well tested area, and is quite straight forward to learn too. The whole section on Driving Whilst Disqualified is another very important area to know. There is a lot here to learn, but all of it is easily tested, and could potentially earn you some easy marks. I would pay attention too to the section on Supervision of learner drivers. I have written questions about this topic and they are really easy to write because there are so many variants’ you can build in. Get to know this too.

Chapter 11 ‘Fixed Penalty System’ is another good chapter for the question writer. For very obvious reasons the section on procedure when the driver is present is significantly longer then the procedure if they are not present. The first thing to remember is that the procedure is applicable to either a Constable IN UNIFORM or a vehicle examiner. After that my advice would be to act out the options that you have working through section to section until you get to the end. They say a picture is worth 1000 words, and when I was studying I found it a good way to remember something. The same applies when I teach, if I can weave the law into a story, it is much easier for my students to remember.

Chapter 12 ‘Forgery and Falsification of Documents’ is another fairly short chapter, but still has lots of good areas for you examiners. The section on police powers allows for the removal of documents from a vehicle. (if appropriate). Other than that common sense should tell you that if a document is a forgery in some way, then there has to be an offence connected to its use, or production. There also has to be an offence connected to the creation of the document if it involves a fraudulent act in some way.

Well now for the good news! That is the first book completed. Next week we are looking at eight chapters from the Crime book. If you find that you have got through the weeks work a little early, use the time for some revision, it is always a good thing to do with a little spare time.

Top Tips
This week’s top tip is about ages. They are a really easy area to test and you should draw up a list of ages and the offences that go with them. Try to put them into different groups, Under 14, under 15 and so on. I know there are lots of them, and we are now well into the study programme, but I have deliberately left this tip this long because it will ensure that you go back over the topics we have already looked at, and will help with the revision. My friend Henry who was the most successful Part 1 candidate I ever knew just read Blackstone’s from cover to cover 5 times and passed first go every time. (He was not very good at Part 2 and kept re-sitting Part 1

I once had to write hundreds of multi choice questions for one of the exam based study tools available to you. In that process I learnt so much law properly it was untrue. If you really want to understand the law you are studying try writing a question about it. There are only so many ways to test subjects and who knows, your question, or something very similar may come up.

Lastly my normal warning, I am not one for selecting certain topics and leaving things that are not likely to come up. No-one except your examiner knows what is in your exam, and the best way to pass is to have a good knowledge of all four Blackstone’s books.

Remember it is only 37 days to go to the exam; keep working hard it is well worth the effort when the results are published and you are on the pass list!

Finally if you are having a problem visit my Part 1 forum on www.policeoracle.com and if I can help you I will. That makes the assumption a knowledgeable officer does not get there ahead of me.

Good luck and keep studying!
The Trainer

Article written by Phil Waters, Cert Ed. Phil is an ex Surrey Inspector from their Training School and was a training consultant for National Police Training. He now runs Executive Guidance Ltd, assisting officers studying for the OSPRE Part 1.