Prevention of Future Deaths reports · 2016
Regulation 28 report to prevent future deaths, reference 2016-0250, written 1 Jul 2016. A coroner writes one of these when an inquest reveals a risk that could cause further deaths unless something changes.
| Date of report | 1 Jul 2016 |
|---|---|
| Reference | 2016-0250 |
| Deceased | George Punton |
| Coroner | David Ridley |
| Coroner area | Wiltshire and Swindon |
| 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.
tas
Foret
S
}
DAVID RIDLEY
Senior Coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon
REGULATION 28 REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS
THIS REPORT IS BEING SENT TO:
PF Associate Director, Highways & Transport, Wiltshire Council, County Hall,
Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 8JN.
CORONER
| am David Ridley, HM Senior Coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon
CORONER’S LEGAL POWERS
| 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.
http://www. legisiation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/25/schedule/5/paragraph/7
http://www. legisiation.gov_uk/uksi/2013/1629/part/7/made
INVESTIGATION and INQUEST
On the 29" June 2016 | concluded the Inquest into the death of George Hedley Punton who died on the
3 December 2015 at Southmead Hospital, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol. An investigation was
commenced by my colleague Coroner in Avon on 7 December 2015 and the conduct of the
Investigation into his death was transferred to me following which | opened George's Inquest on the 16"
December 2015 at which time upon being satisfied as regards identification | duly released his body
back to his family following an examination after death. My conclusion at Inquest was that George had
died as a result of road traffic collision which had occurred on the 21" of November 2015 in the village of
Lockeridge, Wiltshire.
CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DEATH
° The road traffic incident involving George occurred at approximately 1044 on Saturday 21
November 2015;
e George was a pedestrian who was walking his dog along the nearside of C38 in the village of
Lockeridge, Wiltshire (OS grid ref 148677) more likely than not heading south.
° George was struck by a Vauxhall Zafira travelling in the same direction through the village. The
collision caused George to strike the nearside windscreen and “A” pillar of the Zafira which
resulted in George sustaining a serious head injury.
e The driver of the Zafira more likely than not was blinded by the sudden appearance of sunlight
through a gap in the tree-line and as a consequence was not aware of George’s presence on the
nearside of the road. The exact point where the driver would have been affected by the sun is
unclear but it more likely than not was approximately just short of 30m from the northern most
give way markings at the junction with Ryles Lane.
e The precise speed the Zafira was travelling was unknown but was not likely to have exceeded
25 mph at the time of the collision
e Asa result of the collision George was taken to Southmead Hospital, Westbury-on-Trym where
he died as a result of his head injury on 3 December 2015.
CORONER’S CONCERNS
The MATTERS OF CONCERN are as follows
During the course of hearing evidence | heard {ror who whilst not making any
recommendations directly relating to the exact circumstances of George’s death did indirectly highlight a
concern relative to a nearby children’s playground, the access to which from the village, which included
the route George was on at the time highlighted the fact not unsurprisingly given the location that there
were no pedestrian pavements. | think the simplest thing is for me to enclose with this report a copy of
Pe which highlights the location of the playground in question which lies to the north of
the collision point involving George which took place at OS grid reference 148677. The similarity with
the circumstances of George’s death relate to the fact that George at the time was struck by the Zafira
whilst walking on the highway due to the absence of any pavements.
My initial reaction when reading HE 2s that there could be many scenarios whereby villages
due to their history in relation to highways may not be wide enough to accommodate pedestrian
pavements but the location here of the playground and also regards its safe access by villagers including
children does cause me concern. Whilst it is fair to say there have been no incidents in the previous four
years | am sufficiently concerned so as to support EN recommendation that motorists and
other highway users ought to be alerted to the fact that there are no footways and that pedestrians are
likely to be walking at the side of the road and as such | am satisfied that there is a risk that future deaths
will occur unless action is taken and as such | was satisfied that my statutory duty to report those
concerns has been triggered.
ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN
In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and | believe you have the power to take
such action.
YOUR RESPONSE
You are under a duty to respond to this report within 56 days of the date of this report, namely by 25
August 2016. I, the Senior 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.
COPIES and PUBLICATION
| have sent a copy of my report to the Chief Coroner and to the following Interested Persons:
HR counsei for Thrings Solicitors, representing the Family of Mr Punton
DWE LLP, Solicitors ——
HD | 2¥c Management Officer, Road Safety Unit, Wiltshire Police
| 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 Assistant Coroner, at the time of your response, about the release or the
publication of your response by the Chief Coroner.
Dated \.} -VLb
Signature ~~
HM Senior Coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon
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.
Wiltshire Council a _ Where everybody matters 11" July 2016 Directors Office Highways and Transport David Ridley County Hall Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner’s Court Bythesea Road 26 Endless Street Trowbridge Salisbury Wiltshire Wiltshire BA14 8JN SP1 1DP Your ref: Our ref : Dear Mr David W G Ridley RE: Coroners Report for the road traffic collision that occurred on the 21st November in the village of Lockeridge. Thank you for your letter dated 15 July. An assessment for a 20mph speed limit at Lockeridge has recently been undertaken, this assessment has recommended the implementation of a 20mph limit, the extents of which will include the roads around the playground / recreation ground area discussed in the Police Report. The implementation of the 20mph limit is due to be completed by the end of 2016 and will include the provision of the suggested warning signs that are considered appropriate for the location. Kind regards Associate Director - Highways & Transport Wiltshire Council Tel: 0300 456 0100 www.wiltshire.gov. Ei facebook.com/WiltshireCouncil Wy @wiltscouncil
See every Prevention of Future Deaths report matching Road (Highways Safety) related deaths, and how often a new one appears.
What would an alert for this have sent me? Search the full text
Free to try — the preview shows the real matches and how many arrived in the last 12 months. Your first email alert is free.
These reports are published by the Chief Coroner's office at judiciary.uk and are © Crown copyright. The text here is reproduced from the published PDF so it can be searched. If something on this page is wrong, or you are a person named in it and want it reviewed, email drcjar@gmail.com and we will act promptly.