Driver kept tooting his horn while police helped scared children in crash
AN IMPATIENT motorist kept sounding his horn at police officers as they gave medical treatment to two frightened children trapped in a car after an accident.
Officers from Swadlincote Police Safer Neighbourhood Team were left stunned by the driver’s behaviour during the incident.
The driver must have thought he had got away with the outburst as he sped off but police noted his registration and later paid him a visit at home.
Officers at the scene had confronted him and questioned him about his behaviour but he then sped away.
However, officers tracked him down and issued him with a fine.
A spokesman for the team said: “To the furious motorist who repeatedly parped his horn at officers as they provided medical treatment and reassurance to two young children trapped in a vehicle following a car accident – what were you thinking?
“The male, who stated he was frustrated at the police presence at the scene of the collision, fled the scene in his car. Officers made a note of his vehicle registration and visited the male at his home address and presented him with a fixed penalty notice for disorder.”
His terrible behaviour follows a spate of similar incidents in which members of the public have tried to cross police cordons.
A police spokesman said: “Sometimes we are required to close roadways, pavements and cycle tracks to protect crime scenes, cordon off potentially hazardous areas and to warn people of impending danger, such as a road traffic collision.
“To do this efficiently and effectively, this often involves the temporary placement of highlyvisible plastic police tape, as well as the installation of clear warning signs and traffic cones.
“Most pedestrians and motorists adhere to this because they are aware that the police are actively dealing with an incident.
“But with disappointment officers have observed a recent rise in recalcitrant and contumacious individuals who show open contempt and disregard for cordoned-off locations.
“Safer Neighbourhood Teams in South Derbyshire are today issuing a plea to members of the public to respect coned and taped-off areas, with officers warning that individuals crossing police tape and entering a crime scene could be charged with contaminating it, as well as facing public order offences.”
In one recent incident an impatient motorist drove through a police cordon in his Ford Focus before mounting a pavement, nearly mowing down two officers.
The male driver was stopped and warned that if he does it again his vehicle will be seized.
Another man performed “a limbo dance” under police tape after refusing to alter his daily dog walk, said police. When officers asked him to stop he became argumentative, stating: “I always walk this way, what’s your problem?”
And a cyclist ignored pleas from fire crews and police officers to get off his bike to avoid broken glass and debris on a narrow country lane following a road traffic collision. The Lycra-clad male weaved around two police vehicles and a fire engine to carry on with his journey.
A police spokesman added: “Firm action will be taken against those people who choose to ignore police cordons.”