Just recieved this email off my old man Police cars suffer £2.3m damage while reversing POLICE officers have caused more than £2.3 million worth of damage to their police cars, while reversing, according to new figures obtained following a Freedom of Information Act request. Most were minor parking accidents as officers backed their cars into bollards, parked poorly or bumped into buildings. The crashes also left 105 officers injured - most suffering shock and whiplash. But, the cost of repairs comes out of taxes because insurance premiums are so high that the forces do not claim for the damage. The figures for 31 police forces across England and Wales relate to reversing incidents over the past three years and show that there were 7,348 such incidents recorded between 2004 and 2006. However, the true cost and number is likely to be much higher as the Metropolitan Police, the largest force, was among those not to respond. Of the forces that did provide data, Greater Manchester suffered the most with 873 incidents costing £257,000. Colin Breed, the Liberal Democrat MP for South East Cornwall called the figures â??embarrassingâ?? and added: â??It may be that the duty of care towards these company vehicles is less than it should be.â?? There have also been calls for all police vehicles to be fitted with parking sensors. (Daily Telegraph: June 7).