If we don't have more traffic police, driving in Britain is going to get even worse

The revelation that road policing numbers are at a 10-year low may not be a surprise, but it should concern all law-abiding motorists.

The scourge of our roads are the people who think that the rules don’t apply to them. I’m not talking about doing 75mph or 80mph on the motorway – although that is, of course, against the law and therefore wrong – but those who don’t have insurance, a roadworthy vehicle or even a licence. Figures have repeatedly shown that this type of driver is disproportionately dangerous to the rest of us – more likely to take the wheel under the influence of drink or drugs, for example.

Many years ago, I rode along with a police operation targeting poor driving in London – not speeding, but tailgating, undertaking and other bad habits. The results were spectacular in terms of picking up drivers also guilty of other offences – from drunk driving through to outstanding arrest warrants and even the discovery of a machete in one car.

But it was a labour-intensive way of policing, especially compared with the blunt but lucrative tool of a speed camera. That tool can’t assess the situation or use its experience to pick out the erratic driver who brakes for the camera, but is a menace to other road users every other yard of their journey. And that’s without even getting started on the forever problem of cars – or increasingly, bits of cars – being stolen, which is seemingly rising unchecked again.

The most effective deterrent for people who know they shouldn’t be driving is to know they have a good chance of being caught. And if that happens, accepting their car will be taken away. Which means we need sensible and experienced traffic police, being visible and picking off the drivers who are a danger to the rest of us. Not sitting at a desk filling out paperwork because civilian staff have been cut to massage actual police officer figures...

The worry is this is never going to be a priority, while so much else in the country needs attention and funding. But the politicians’ promises need to be realised in the forthcoming road safety strategy update due this autumn, because at the moment there’s really not enough action to deter illegal activity across the board.

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