TRAFFIC cops in the Thames Valley came under scrutiny last month when it was revealed officers win points for arrests. Five points are won for catching a motorist not wearing a seat belt or using a mobile phone.

The revelation prompted fears of hardline policing against drivers as under pressure officers strive to meet targets.

Reporter Vince Soodin joined two roads officers as they patrolled our streets to see if this was fair.

IT'S just after 4pm and PC Ken Johnson and PC Gerry Byrne are readying themselves to leave the station and begin their patrol.

They are finishing off a mug of tea each when their radios start buzzing.

"A lorry versus an elderly woman," said PC Johnson, when I asked what had happened.

This is how all the road incidents are described and like many heavyweight boxing bouts they are usually a mismatch.

PC Johnson and PC Byrne share a knowing look that there is a strong chance, because the injured party is elderly, that this accident will turn to a "fatal". If not now, then in a few weeks.

I will be with PC Johnson and PC Byrne for 90 minutes, yet that is not the only accident that I encounter while I am with them.

Just two roads officers cover the South Bucks region, which includes the A roads, sections of the A40, M40 and M25.

As we head down to Beaconsfield from the Roads Policing headquarters at Amersham Police Station I ask them about the controversial points system.

The system had provoked fury from the Police Federation the union for rank and file police officers.

The federation argued that the targets would strip an officer of discretion and with it the goodwill of the public.

But the officers believe the points system will not hamper their relationships with drivers.

PC Johnson said: "Most drivers are quite accepting.

"They know when we stop them that something is wrong."

The officers said they had received some comments from drivers because of the "unhelpful" way the system was reported in the national press.

But PC Johnson maintains discretion is still an important tool of the job.

He said: "We cannot pull everybody, and those we do, talking to them can sometimes do the job. It is how you deal with people. If you explain to them what has happened, then there is not a problem."

This approach is demonstrated when an Astra driver is pulled over. He turned off the M25 at the last moment right in front of the patrol car. To make matters worse he also had a brake light out.

Driver Robert Edmund, from Chorleywood, is apologetic after realising it was not a textbook piece of driving.

He escapes with a mild telling-off from the two officers.

Mr Edmund said: "The officers were fair. I did not see the turn off sign until the last moment but I will be more careful."

We turn around using a hidden turn off lane so the officers do not have to travel to the next junction to switch to the opposite carriageway.

There has been another accident I'd describe it as a little van versus a big van and it's causing a tailback.

Phil, an electrician, from Maidenhead, is nursing a nasty gash to his forearm after his smaller van collided with the back of a Renault van in the fast lane.

He said: "I feel all right but I am a bit shaken."

Looking at the tailback, the electrician added: "I always curse drivers that cause jams because of an accident. I'll think a bit different now."

We head off after the ambulance takes the injured driver away and a motorway maintenance team arrives to tow the van. Such accidents are the bread and butter for traffic police.

On the way back to the station, I am showed a monitor and camera in the car which can zoom in on drivers being followed.

The camera zoom can highlight a driver not wearing a seat belt or using a mobile. Police say encouraging drivers to wear seat belts would have the "single biggest impact" in reducing road deaths.

PC Johnson and PC Byrne say drivers cause accidents because they forget all the rules they were taught when learning to drive.

"How can motorists improve their driving?" I ask PC Bryce. "Read the Highway Code," he says bluntly.

ROAD SAFETY FACTS

l Safer Roads Partnership report an average of three people dead and 150 injured on Thames Valley roads each week.

Driver sleepiness is thought to cause ten per cent of all road accidents and one in five accidents on motorways and trunk roads.

Sleepiness is considered by sleep research academics to claim more lives on the roads than alcohol.

In the last year, 300 motorcyclists were seriously injured and 37 lost their lives on Thames Valley roads. The death toll rises each year.

Motorcyclists make up less than one per cent of the traffic, but account for more than 20 per cent of road deaths.

More people were killed on the roads in 1926 than today, even though we now have 30 times more vehicles on the roads.

Drivers convicted of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs could face up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or a minimum two-year driving ban.

Each death on the road is estimated to cost about £1million.