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AN INNOVATIVE black-box device for emergency vehicles was launched by a Haverhill company last week at the annual police show in Wiltshire.

Hartest Holdings, of Piperell Way. hopes to one day see its Harrier Black Box in all emergency vehicles and believes it will cut down on the number of accidents they are involved in.

The virtually indestructible device, similar to a plane’s flight recorder, would record technical data which could be used to analyse what went wrong if a police car or ambulance was involved in a crash and prevent further accidents in the future.

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) supports the use of black boxes and live trials of the Harrier will take place with a police force and two ambulance services over the next few weeks.

David Leeming, chief executive of Hartest Holdings, said the device was designed to record data before and after an incident.

“Hartest is confident that the Harrier Black Box will provide indisputable statistical data which can be considered as supporting evidence against potential litigation in the case of road traffic accidents.

“It will offer a significant level of protection for the authorities, their staff and the general public.

“We envisage that they will become a standard within all emergency vehicles,” Mr Leeming said.

A recent PCA report revealed that deaths from police pursuits rose to 25 last year, an increase of 178 per cent in the last four years. The Home Office estimates that there are 2,000 injuries each as a direct result of high pursuits.

Sir Alistair Graham, chairman of the PCA, described this as “totally unacceptable” and investigating changes to procedure was a top priority.

CAPTION: Safety first … David Leeming, of Hartest Holdings.