Police Scotland has at least 55 cars that are ‘fire risks at high speeds’
DUNBLANE, STIRLINGSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM - 2021/11/23: Stirling Road Policing Unit (RPU) vehicle blocks the road off due to the accident on the Keir Roundabout in Dunblane. At 9:45am on Tuesday, a British Army Heavy Lifter was involved in a single car crash on the Keir Roundabout after colliding with the central barrier then flipping over onto the roof, spilling its load and seriously injuring a 33 year old and 21 year old occupants. Both are being treated at Forth Valley Royal Hospital. (Photo by Stewart Kirby/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
More than 50 police cars in Scotland are fitted with engines that are fire risks when driven at high speeds, internal figures released by the national force have revealed.
Police Scotland said 55 of its marked BMW vehicles in use around the country have N57 engines, but declined to say how many of its unmarked fleet this also applied to.
In England, officers driving cars with N57 engines have been instructed not to go 20mph over the speed limit, even while they are chasing criminals, due to the potential fire risk.
The order was handed down by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in January after the death of PC Nick Dumphreys, 47, who died when his BMW burst into flames in 2020 in Cumbria.
BMW has said that the issue only relates to police vehicles due to the way they are driven when responding to emergencies, such as sharp acceleration and braking.
The car manufacturer has said it is dealing with “technical matter linked to a small number of special high-performance vehicles” and that they should be specially serviced.
The Police Scotland figures, revealed after a Freedom of Information request, come after it emerged that some of its vehicles date back to the 1980s and 560 are more than a decade old.
The force’s capital funding, which covers stations, vehicles and equipment, was also cut in real terms in the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2022-23.
The Scottish Conservatives, who submitted the FoI to Police Scotland, called for this decision to be reversed through a special capital funding injection totalling £36m.
“It is deeply concerning to learn that so many Police Scotland vehicles are fitted with these potentially dangerous engines,” said the party’s justice spokesman Jamie Greene.
“If these vehicles are unsafe when driven at high speed then they are clearly not fit for purpose – and I’m appalled that officers are still being expected to use them.
“We’ve known for some time that chronic underfunding from the SNP has left Police Scotland with an ageing, inadequate fleet, but this is simply unacceptable.”
Chief Superintendent Louise Blakelock, Police Scotland’s head of road policing, said: “We continue to receive updates and are working closely with police partners across the UK following a safety alert on some BMW models.
“The majority of our BMW fleet are fully operational as the issue only affects a specific engine type. Some affected BMW vehicles remain in operational use, but with limitations in place as a result of UK-wide guidance.
“As a national police service we can utilise a range of other vehicles and our operational effectiveness has been maintained.
“Work remains ongoing with our fleet department to consider longer term options, including replacing the affected models.”
Source: (In News)