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03
Dec 2022
'We will prosecute if we have to': On the road with Harrogate’s traffic police
Harrogate traffic cop TC Craig Taylor has been a police officer for 20 years - 16 of which have been policing Yorkshire's roads.
In that time, he’s stopped drug drivers, pursued motorists speeding and been at crime scenes where a drink-driver has killed someone.
These days, he’s on Harrogate’s roads making sure that cars are abiding by the speed limit.
On a cold, crisp Tuesday afternoon, the Stray Ferret joined TC Taylor on a patrol to see what he faces on a daily basis.
'No one sets out to have a collision'
“I don’t think people set out to have a collision,” TC Taylor says as we head down Leeds Road in his BMW.
He says that drink and drug driving is what the force is particularly looking out for at Christmas.
While he has come across 16 years worth of incidents involving drivers under the influence of drink and drugs, he says none set out to do anyone harm.
TC Taylor first started by patrolling Bradford and Leeds before moving to police the roads in Harrogate.
TC Taylor, who has been a roads police offer for 16 years.
While the metropolitan cities of neighbouring West Yorkshire may seem a different world for policing, he says there is not much difference.
This week North Yorkshire Police launched its “save a life, call it in” campaign, which urges people to call out drivers who appear to be under the influence on the county's roads.
Amid the plea to the public, TC Taylor says there is not much difference between finding drink drivers in the centre of Harrogate to out on rural roads where they “feel safer” driving home.
While some cases of drink driving are stopped before an accident happens, TC Taylor has experience of incidents which don’t end so well.
Read more:
- Criminals in North Yorkshire could make written apologies to victims
- Police plea to call out drink drivers amid increasing Harrogate district incidents
As we pull over on Leeds Road to carry out a speed check, he talks about a crash where a businesswoman killed two pensioners while under the influence of drink.
The woman had been out on a Christmas party, where she had got drunk and decided to drive home.
As she drove home, she turned onto a main road and crashed into a parked car where the two pensioners were unloading their shopping. Both were killed.
TC Taylor carrying out a speed check on Leeds Road, Harrogate.
Last year, police arrested 137 people during their December campaign for drink or drug driving in North Yorkshire.
From the 137 arrests, 120 were men and 17 were women. 72 people of the 137 were charged with an offence. A total of 25 of the arrests were made following a crash.
TC Taylor points out that when it comes to a fatal crash, there is always an underlining factor involved.
'We will prosecute if we have to'
Armed with his speed gun and fluorescent jacket, he starts to point at oncoming drivers down Leeds Road - which he says is a common area for speeding in the town.
Most drivers spot TC Taylor in the distance and begin to temper their speed.
He pulls over a woman who was going too fast and orders her to take a breathalyser. She passes and is given words of advice before being sent on her way.
TC Taylor says that it is not the case that every driver needs to be prosecuted.
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