Watchdog finds police could have prevented Tayside, Scotland road crash

February 3, 2014

Scotland's Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) has criticised the national force for failing to stop a driver reported to them for being drunk behind the wheel. A subsequent crash wounded four.

Police's Tayside Division received a report on June 30 last year from a member of the public that a 19-year-old motorist was drunk. The man subsequently crashed near, seriously injuring himself and one of his three passengers. The other two occupants sustained lesser injuries.

Police referred themselves to PIRC John McNeill, who said "My investigation found [...] there was potential to stop and the person thereby preventing a later serious road accident". His team examined radio logs, CCTV, police communications systems and procedures, and accounts from officers and the public.

The report calls on Police Scotland to remind officers of standard procedure for dealing with suspected drink-driving calls. Last year the now-defunct force was criticised for a similar car crash in which a man hit a pedestrian with his vehicle after police received notice he was driving drunk.