Steffan Evans

Staffordshire

County Council

Mr Andrew A Haigh

Senior HM Coroner for Staffordshire South
Coroner's Office

No 1 Staffordshire Place

Stafford

ST16 2LP

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Communities and Road Safety
Staffordshire County Council
1 Staffordshire Place
Tipping Street
Stafford
‘eST16:2LEP

Telephone: 01785 278160
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12'" December 2019
Our ref: RR/B5017BurtonRdCallingwood
Your ref:

Dear Mr Haigh,
Re: Steffan Gareth Evans (Deceased)

| refer to your Regulation 28 Report regarding the ‘Inquest into the death of Steffan Gareth
Evans and your comments concerning the B5017 Burton Road between Needwood and
Burton. This letter is in response to your matters of concern recorded in section 5 of your
report.

Some of the information that will be outlined below, has been included within email exchanges
with that | believe you have been copied into. Therefore, | apologise for
the duplication, though | feel it is necessary to reiterate the actions undertaken.

Following the collision in January, as is the process following all fatal road traffic collisions; the
collision history at this location was examined. The search concluded that no personal injury
collisions had been recorded within 300m of where the fatal collision took place within the
latest three years of complete data that we had available at the time. When the search area
was widened, two slight personal injury collisions have been recorded on the stretch of B5017
between Five Ways Island, Needwood and the change of speed limit east of The Acorn Inn.

This collision history does not indicate a requirement for speed reducing features. If patterns of
treatable collisions are identified, remedial measures proportionate to the accident problem,
will be proposed and prioritised against other locations across Staffordshire. As the budget for
road safety improvements is finite, it is the sites with the greatest proven need which are
treated first, and these will have a cluster of incidents with a discernible trend or pattern in the
cause of each.

CO

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Staffordshire

County Council

On the 14! February, a Hazard Report Card was received from [requesting
we ‘assess the need for a reduction on the speed limit and the addition of signage to indicate
the presence of hidden entrances’. A speed and volume survey to ascertain vehicle speeds
was undertaken during the 10th and 19 July and 85!" percentile speeds of 56mph in both
directions over a 24-hour period were recorded. These speeds indicate good compliance to the
National Speed Limit; however, we received a report highlighting that it was felt that these
speeds did not represent a true reflection of vehicle speeds travelling on this section of the
B5017.

The survey was completed following roadworks on Burton Road that involved temporary traffic
lights close to Five Ways Island and it was suspected that drivers had sought alternative routes
and traffic had not returned to normal. Following receipt of this local insight, it was agreed that
a new speed and volume survey would be undertaken. This second survey was undertaken
between the 7 and 15'% November and 85" percentile speeds of 51mph eastbound and
55mph westbound over a 24-hour period were recorded.

These speeds again highlight good compliance to the National Speed Limit. Based on this
data, speed enforcement activities either by fixed cameras or mobile camera vans would not
be initiated as criteria has not been met. There was a slight increase in vehicle volume for the
second survey as an average (7-day average) of 6526 vehicle speeds were recorded over a
24-hour period compared to 6153 vehicles for the first survey.

Regarding the request for additional signage to indicate the presence of private accesses onto
Burton Road, there is no prescribed sign within the Traffic Signs Regulations and General
Directions for concealed entrances and therefore this is not an option we can consider.

Following the Inquest, | received a letter from [J dated the 18th October where an
invitation was made to visit their property. On Friday 22nd November, [NN
(Strategic Community Infrastructure Manager) and SEN (Road Safety Manager) met
with RE at their property. A request for a speed limit reduction was made,
however it was explained that the budget available to the Council for highway improvements is
extremely limited and reducing speed limits is usually accompanied by additional robust
measures such as lining, signage, carriageway narrowing, gateway features or build outs — in
order to help promote good compliance with the lower limit.

These additional measures obviously come at a cost which must be justified, and it is right
therefore that we firstly target those locations where a demonstrable reduction in the number of
people killed or seriously injured on our roads can be achieved, by prioritising locations where
there is a cluster of incidents with a discernible trend or pattern within the accident data.

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Staffordshire

County Council

| acknowledge that reducing the speed limit to 40mph for this section of the B5017 is desired,
however, this would be a significant reduction from the existing National Speed Limit, and it
would be very difficult to achieve driver compliance. Some drivers may choose to ignore such
a change which could lead to an increase in manoeuvres involving risk, for example overtaking
or tailgating. Any reduction is therefore unlikely to be successful without additional costly
engineering measures as discussed above.

In summary, based on the collision data we hold for this location, the site would otherwise not
be considered for any traffic calming measures at this time. However, there is a possibility that
it will be feasible to include this section of Burton Road as part of another funded scheme in

the local area, and we are investigating this possibility. Throughout these investigations, we
will endeavour to — informed.

| hope the above information is of benefit, however if further clarification or detail is required, |
am more than happy to provide further information.

Yours sincerely,

Assistant Director for Highways and the Built County

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