Prevention of Future Deaths reports · 2014
Regulation 28 report to prevent future deaths, reference 2014-0076, written 26 Feb 2014. A coroner writes one of these when an inquest reveals a risk that could cause further deaths unless something changes.
| Date of report | 26 Feb 2014 |
|---|---|
| Reference | 2014-0076 |
| Deceased | Samuel Shaw |
| Coroner | Tony Brown |
| Coroner area | North Northumberland |
| Category | Road (Highways Safety) related deaths |
| Source | judiciary.uk record · original PDF |
| Responses published | 1 |
Text extracted from the PDF text layer. Reproduced verbatim, including the scan's own layout.
Tony Brown LLM
H M Senior Coroner
North Northumberland
Teleph
17 Church Street
Berwick-upon-Tweed
TD15 1EE
Tel : 01289 304318
Fax : 01289 303591
REGULATION 28: REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS
REGULATION 28 REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS
THIS REPORT IS BEING SENT TO:
Regional Director
Highways Agency
Lateral
8 City Walk
Leeds
LS11 9AT
1
CORONER
I am Tony Brown, senior coroner, for the coroner area of North Northumberland
2
CORONER’S LEGAL POWERS
I make this report under paragraph 7, Schedule 5, of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009
and regulations 28 and 29 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013.
3
INVESTIGATION and INQUEST
On 31st October 2013 I commenced an investigation into the death of Samuel Eric
Shaw, age 70 years. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 21st
February 2014. The conclusion of the inquest was that Samuel Eric Shaw died as a
result of an accident, the medical cause of death being:-
1a Multiple Injuries
4
CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DEATH
Samuel Eric Shaw and his partner Janet Cowan were staying at Haggerston, Beal,
Northumberland. On 29.10.13 Mr Shaw had travelled with
by bus to
Morpeth and Alnwick before returning to Haggerston at approximately 6.45 p.m. On
getting off the bus both Mr Shaw and
began to cross the single carriageway
section of the A1 to the centre of the road when Mr Shaw was struck by an ambulance
travelling southbound. Eric suffered multiple injuries due to the impact of that collision
and his death was pronounced at the scene by paramedics at 7.04 p.m.
5
CORONER’S CONCERNS
During the course of the inquest the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. In
my opinion there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken. In the
circumstances it is my statutory duty to report to you.
The MATTERS OF CONCERN are as follows. –
At Haggerston Holiday Park, adjoining the east side of the A1 trunk road there are
hundreds of caravans located and several hundreds of people come to stay and visit
regularly. Access from public transport is by buses which also stop at various towns and
villages along the A1 Trunk road. The road is the main strategic highway route between
Scotland and England. The speed limit at Haggerston is 60 miles per hour and those
travelling north on buses have to set down on the west side and cross both lanes of the
A1 Trunk road traffic, through an unlit area to reach Haggerston. The visibility of
pedestrians on the road for drivers travelling at up to 60 mph is restricted because of the
need to use dipped headlights. There is no warning sign for motorists travelling south to
alert drivers of pedestrians crossing the road. There is no central refuge for pedestrians
crossing the road at the crossing point.
6
ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN
In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you and/or
your organisation have the power to take such action.
7
YOUR RESPONSE
You are under a duty to respond to this report within 56 days of the date of this report,
namely by 26th April 2014. I, the coroner, may extend the period.
Your response must contain details of action taken or proposed to be taken, setting out
the timetable for action. Otherwise you must explain why no action is proposed.
8
COPIES and PUBLICATION
I have sent a copy of my report to the Chief Coroner and to the following Interested
Persons,
Executive Director of Place, Northumberland County Council, The
Clerk to Ancroft Parish Council, Managing Director Bourne Leisure Group, General
Manager, Arriva plc,
I have also sent it North East Ambulance Service who may find it useful or of interest.
Bridge McFarland, solicitors.
I am also under a duty to send the Chief Coroner a copy of your response.
The Chief Coroner may publish either or both in a complete or redacted or summary
form. He may send a copy of this report to any person who he believes may find it useful
or of interest. You may make representations to me, the coroner, at the time of your
response, about the release or the publication of your response by the Chief Coroner.
9
DATE 26th February 2014
TONY BROWN
HM Senior Coroner for North Northumberland
1 response published against this report on judiciary.uk. A response is a body's written reply to the coroner's concerns; publication is at the discretion of the Chief Coroner's office, so an absent response does not mean nobody replied.
H I G H W A Y S A G E N C Y Sale roads, reliable journeys, informed travellers HM Coroner’s Office 17 Church Street BERWICK-UPON-TWEED TD15 1EE Regional Director, Yorkshire & Humber and North East Lateral 8 City Walk Leeds LS11 9AT For the attention of Tony Brown LLM 9 April 2014 Dear Mr Brown, A1 Haggerston, Northumberland In relation to the Death of Mr Samuel Eric Shaw I refer to your letter of 26 February 2014 regarding the death of Mr Samuel Eric Shaw that took place on 29 October 2013. The Highways Agency was saddened by the news of Mr Shaw’s death and we note your verdict that his death was the result of a collision on the A1. Following receipt of your letter a detailed examination of the circumstances of this and other collisions recorded in the vicinity of the Ancroft Road junction have taken place, and a detailed inspection and assessment of the location has been undertaken. Your letter details improvement measures that you suggest should be considered for installation at this location, each of which is considered below: Unlit A1 No street lighting has been provided on the A1 in the vicinity of Haggerston. This is not untypical for a length of rural de-restricted single carriageway road on the strategic road network. For your information, no street lighting exists on the A1 between Blagdon Interchange, to the south, and A1167 Scremerston Roundabout, to the north, a distance of approximately 50 miles. The primary purpose of street lighting on the strategic road network is to reduce the risk of night-time personal injury accidents. The latest available 5-year accident record (the period most frequently used when assessing accident sites and trends) confirms that two slight night-time collisions have also taken place, on a km length including this junction. Bearing in mind the Government’s target to reduce carbon emissions; the introduction of new street lighting schemes are currently being given a comparatively low priority, and only considered at sites where a significant problem exists. Page 1 of 3 H I G H W A Y S A G E N C Y Sale roads, reliable journeys, informed travellers Warning Signs on the Southbound Approach to Haggerston Your report indicates that there are no warning signs on the A1 southbound approach to Haggerston. I can, however, confirm that signs have been in place since 2005 comprising an ‘Accompanied Horses Crossing’ warning sign, an ‘Other Danger Ahead’ warning sign with ‘Pedestrians Crossing’ worded supplementary plate, on a bright yellow backing board. These signs exist on both the north and southbound approaches to the crossing location at appropriate distances from the hazard. These signs are associated with a SLOW road marking laid on a red coloured carriageway surface patch, to further highlight the hazard ahead. Please see Photograph 1 below. Pedestrians Crossing - t > g Photograph 1: Warning signs and road markings on the A1 southbound approach to the junction. In addition to this sign combination, a further stack type advance direction sign has been installed approximately 165m north of the centre of the junction, which indicates the directions to a number of local destinations accessed from the Haggerston/Ancroft junction. Photograph 2: Stack type direction sign on the A1 southbound approach to the junction Page 2 of 3 H I G H W A Y S A G E N C Y Safe roads, reliable journeys, informed travellers No Central Refuge Provided Currently, lengths of footway are provided on both the eastern and western sides of the A1 and a dropped crossing facility for pedestrians is provided on the northern side of the minor road junction. This crossing facility has been installed as close as possible to the preferred desire line of pedestrians walking between the northbound bus-stop and access to Haggerston, to minimise their inconvenience and thus maximise usage. At this location the A1 includes two through lanes, a central ghost island right turn facility and a paved merge lane/bus-stop area. Installing a central pedestrian refuge in this location would not be possible due to the need to safely accommodate turning traffic. The existing facilities are consistent with the standard of Non-Motorised User (NMU) facilities provided elsewhere along the A1 in Northumberland, although it is accepted that during some months of the year, pedestrian crossing movements at this location are.more frequent than at some other locations. Actions I have concluded that the lighting and signing provision meets current standards and therefore no immediate action is required to address your concerns. However, I have arranged for an investigation to be undertaken to consider possible options to install an improved pedestrian crossing facility in the vicinity of Haggerston. This investigation will: (cid:127) Assess the current level of demand for crossing the carriageway; (cid:127) Appraise the existing NMU routes in this vicinity; (cid:127) Identify possible locations to install more appropriate pedestrian crossing facilities that will satisfy the needs of NMUs and motorists, taking account of the appropriate highway design standards and the positions of existing junctions and bus-stops along this length of the A1. I trust that this information is of assistance in explaining the approach that the Highways Agency intends to take in relation to this location. Yours sincerely f P Regional Director, Yorkshire & Humber and North East Page 3 of 3
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