Prevention of Future Deaths reports · 2014
Regulation 28 report to prevent future deaths, reference 2014-0241, written 28 May 2014. A coroner writes one of these when an inquest reveals a risk that could cause further deaths unless something changes.
| Date of report | 28 May 2014 |
|---|---|
| Reference | 2014-0241 |
| Deceased | Arnold Soulsby |
| Coroner | Robin Balmain |
| Coroner area | Black Country |
| Category | Road (Highways Safety) related deaths |
| Source | judiciary.uk record · original PDF |
| Responses published | 1 |
Text recovered by OCR from a scanned PDF. OCR is imperfect: check anything you rely on against the source PDF. Reproduced verbatim, including the scan's own layout.
Smethwick Council House High Street we Smethwick Robin J. Balmain ) 7G BY West er H.M. SENIOR CORONER Os a) ones ~ - Tel: 0845 352 74 BLACK COUNTRY CORONER’S DISTRICT Fax: 0121 569 5384 (SANDWELL ¢ DUDLEY * WALSALL + WOLVERHAMPTON E-mail: Metropolitan Borough Councils) Po Date: 28 May 2014 Our Ref: RJB Your Ref: REGULATION 28 REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS THIS REPORT IS BEING SENT TO: The Secretary of State Department of Transport, Richmond House 79 Whitehall London SW1A 2NL 4. CORONER I Robin John Balmain am the Senior Coroner for the Black Country Coroners Jurisdiction 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 6t February 2013 I commenced an investigation into the death of Arnold SOULSBY. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 15't May 2014. The conclusion of the inquest was that death was due to an accident. 4. CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DEATH Mr. Soulsby was a pedestrian crossing the road at traffic lights which were on red in respect of traffic passing along the road which Mr. Soulsby wished to cross. As he crossed in front of the lorry, the lights changed to green, the lorry moved off without seeing Mr. Soulsby and he was knocked to the ground and killed. The driver of the lorry was unable to see Mr. Soulsby because the height of the bottom of the windscreen was above Mr. Soulsby’s height. The nn Ett This Office is open Monday to Thursday 8am to 4pm. Friday 8am to 3pm SENIOR CORONER 27 May 2014 Continuation SL vehicle did not have forward facing mirrors, nor was it required to do so in view of its age. CORONERS CONCERNS The MATTERS OF CONCERN are as follows :- I am concerned that the regulations that have been introduced requiring lorries to have forward facing mirrors are not retrospective, hence there are a large number of lorries on the road which do not have this facility. I have conducted a number of inquests where the circumstances are similar and I have previously drawn the attention of the department to this problem on (I believe) two occasions, one prior to the 2007 Regulations providing for forward facing mirrors and one thereafter. ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action. I ask that the matter be looked at again to see if provision can, even at this stage, be introduced for retrospective fitting of forward facing mirrors to all lorries as I believe that deaths in these circumstances are likely to continue. YOUR RESPONSE You are under a duty to respond to this report within 56 days of the date of the report, namely by 234 July 2014. COPIES and PUBLICATIONS I have sent a copy of my report to the Chief Coroner and to the following interested Persons : SENIOR CORONER 27 May 2014 Continuation Tam 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. RJ. Balmain Senior Coroner BAP
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.
gue From the Parliamentary q Under Secretary of State Claire Perry MP Department Great Minster House for Transport 28 Horseferry Road SW1P 4DR Tel: Robin J Balmain J. H. M. Senior Coroner Black Country Coroner's District Web site: www.gov.ukiaft Smethwick Council House Our Ref: MC/108653 High Street Your Ref: RJB Smethwick West Midlands “4A SEP 2014 B66 3NT ous Cw Eonar | refer to your Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths, sent to the Secretary for State, dated 28 May following the inquest into the death of Arnold Soulsby. On conclusion of the inquest you made a finding that the height of the bottom of the windscreen, in relation to Mr Soulsby’s height, meant that the lorry driver was unable to see him crossing the road at the traffic lights. The lorry did not have retro-fitted forward facing mirrors, which may have prevented the death. | am replying as Minster responsible for road vehicle safety. The circumstances of this tragic collision reinforces in my mind that we must not be complacent about road safety, and both the Government and the Department takes the safety of all road users very seriously. The Department has published a Strategic Framework for Road Safety, which sets out general safety measures. Driver vision is an important factor in minimising collisions of large vehicles with vulnerable road users and | have recently asked officials to prepare a consultation which is specifically about retro-fitting forward facing (Class VI) mirrors above the windscreen of heavy goods vehicles that were first registered prior to 26 January 2007. These mirrors were required as standard fitment on heavy goods vehicles first used after that date. The consultation will explore the potential benefits and costs associated with requiring retro-fit of these mirrors, and the practical engineering issues associated with retro-fit on vehicles that were not designed to have these mirrors fitted. | am grateful to you for raising this incident with me, and would appreciate you conveying my condolences to the family. WH SAdre alc, CLAIRE PERRY
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