The offence carries a fine of up to £1,000, three penalty points and discretionary disqualification. The officer has to be acting "in the execution of his duty", which opens up the possibility of defending the charge on the basis that the officer wasn't genuinely acting to protect life. What if a motorist were to refuse to follow the officer's instruction not to use the road and to insist on his/her right to "take my chances"? Section 35 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 makes it an offence for the driver of a vehicle not to stop when required to do so by a police officer engaged in regulating traffic. Put simply, as a matter of tradition accepted by the courts, if a police officer thinks that drivers (or indeed pedestrians) would put themselves at risk by using a snowbound road s/he has the power to tell them not to use it. I stand to be corrected by more knowledgeable Guardian readers, but as far as I can see the police's power to close roads in the type of situation flamesnm describes doesn't derive from statute but is a function of the police's common law duty to protect life and property. But one of the great things about the Liberty Clinic is that I and my colleagues get to look at areas of law we have never previously considered. The law relating to road closures is not something that I have often had cause to look at in my legal career. I understand in both these instances the police were looking after everyone's best interest, but am I entitled to say 'Thanks, but I'll take my chances'? Again, this stopped us leaving the village by road. Could I have told the officer that I understood their concerns, but was going to push on anyway or is a police roadblock final? Would it have made any difference if these were Community Support Officers rather than regular police? This also happened during the most recent foot and mouth outbreak where animals were being culled, and roadblocks had been setup to stop people travelling through the area while the shooting was ongoing. Due to some inopportune roadworks which closed a third road, I was effectively stopped from leaving the village by road. They were turning motorists around as the roads were too dangerous to continue. During the cold snap, the police had chosen to block (by parking 4x4s across the road) a couple of routes out of the village. ![]() ![]() I live in a large village in Surrey with limited road access in and out. I have a question regarding the rights of members of the public to ignore police roadblocks.
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