Harrowing Road Incidents Highlight the Daily Dangers Faced by Britain’s Traffic Police

Across Britain, traffic police confront life-changing and often tragic incidents every day, responding to more road deaths and serious injuries annually than murder detectives encounter in a lifetime. A recent episode of Traffic Cops offers a sobering look into the realities of policing the roads of Yorkshire, where thousands of collisions occur each year.

One of the most distressing incidents involved a 16-week pregnant cyclist who was struck by a lorry during the morning rush hour near York. The woman was knocked from her bicycle and dragged several meters beneath the vehicle, suffering severe leg injuries. Traffic officer John Kendall arrived at the scene within minutes to find her screaming in pain—an alarming yet hopeful sign that she remained conscious.

Given the seriousness of her injuries and concerns for her unborn baby, an air ambulance was dispatched. The area was sealed off as paramedics worked urgently to stabilize her before airlifting her to Leeds General Infirmary. Investigators later reconstructed the collision and determined that the lorry driver had pulled out from a junction without seeing the cyclist, likely due to blind spots. He was subsequently found guilty of driving without due care and attention. Thankfully, the woman survived, did not lose her leg, and later gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

The episode also followed a dramatic hit-and-run involving multiple collisions. A driver who initially fled the scene after crashing into another vehicle went on to cause further accidents. When police finally intercepted him, breath tests showed no alcohol involvement. Instead, officers discovered the driver was an insulin-dependent diabetic whose insulin pump had malfunctioned, causing him to lose awareness while driving. No charges were filed after medical evidence confirmed the device failure.

In another disturbing case, officers responded to a pedestrian hit-and-run in Leeds. The victim initially appeared uncooperative, refusing medical treatment and withholding personal details. Police soon discovered he was wanted for stalking offenses in York. CCTV footage later revealed that the collision was not accidental—the driver appeared to deliberately target the man. The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.

The episode also highlighted the risks posed by inexperienced and illegal drivers. Officers dealt with a young man who lost control of a high-performance vehicle on a roundabout, narrowly avoiding a fatal crash. Although no one was injured, police reported him for careless driving. Elsewhere, officers seized a car from a driver using cloned license plates and suspected of running untaxed red diesel. In another case, a woman driving erratically was found to hold only a provisional license and was driving alone illegally.

Together, these incidents paint a stark picture of the dangers present on Britain’s roads. Whether caused by momentary lapses in attention, medical emergencies, reckless behavior, or illegal driving, the consequences can be devastating. For traffic police, vigilance is constant—and every shift carries the potential to save lives.