Road Traffic Collision (2002)
Road Traffic Collision (2002): This page shows how the emergency services responded to a road traffic collision where a motorcyclist had been knocked off his bike by a car emerging from a side road.
4:58pm One minute after the collision. A police Peugeot Expert has arrived with blue lights flashing. It is positioned to block one side of the road. An ambulance is arriving at the same time as York’s lifecycle paramedic. In the foreground is the motorbike casualty lying on the ground. Paramedics are calming and treating the patient. Eyewitnesses say that the rider stood up after the crash, stumbled around and then fell to the floor.
4:59pm The scene from the opposing view. The severely damaged bike has slid to a stop in the centre of the carriageway. The position of the two emergency vehicles on-scene prevents traffic from passing and hitting the bike.
5:04pm As crowds begin to gather and traffic builds up, more police vehicles arrive with blue lights showing. A Volvo V70 T5 traffic car and a Peugeot 306 panda car stop the traffic before it reaches the ambulance. Officers get out and begin to direct the heavy rush-hour traffic to turn around.
5:08pm The car emerging from the side road is this red Land Rover Discovery. Minor scrapes are noted on the bumper and a significant dent caused by the motorcyclists head on the bonnet. It has been surrounded by ‘police’ tape. It is far too early to appoint blame at this stage.
5:10pm TENYAS’s life cycle, with the crashed bike in the background.
5:14pm More police officers arrive on the scene. The crash site is cordoned off completely while frustrated motorists are shuffled back.
5:16pm Another Volvo V70 T5 and a Ford Explorer have arrived. Traffic officers assist bus drivers to turn their vehicles around.
5:17pm Officers begin to concentrate on the crashed bike. They analyse the scene and record it using the Volvo’s on-board video camera.
5:30pm The officers take measurements and notes about the bike. Debris can be seen scattered across the road. The white container in the foreground is red spray paint, used to mark the tyre routes and final locations of the crashed vehicles.
5:33pm The investigating officers conclude their findings. The police tape is started to be removed and the recovery and clean up operation commences.
7:05pm The road is cleared and all of the police vehicles have left. A small amount of evening traffic passes, oblivious to the action seen just two hours ago. The only indications that this was an accident site are the red paint marks on the road.
The motorcyclist escaped serious injury. He was treated for shock, cuts and bruises in hospital and released the same day. It transpires that he was knocked off his bike as he moved down the side of a queue of stationary traffic. A motorist had left a gap for the Land Rover to emerge from the side road, so it did, crashing into the bike. Officers at the scene were continually distracted from their work by some pedestrians ignoring the ‘police’ tape used to cordon off the crash scene. The tape is used for a good reason, to protect the scene and its evidence, and should not be crossed unless instructed.