Stephen Wood

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REGULATION 29 RESPONSE TO A REPORT ON ACTION TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS

THIS RESPONSE IS BEING SENT TO:

1. The Senior Coroner for the Coroner Area of Dorset, Rachael Griffin, of Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth BH2 6DY in response to a ‘Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths’ following an inquest hearing into the death of Stephen Wood that concluded on 07 February 2023.

1 NATIONAL HIGHWAYS

I am Director of Road Safety, responding on behalf of Chief Executive of National Highways Limited of Bridge House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, SURREY, GU1 4LZ.

I note that the collision occurred on Coombe Road, Winterbourne Steepleton, Dorchester, Dorset. For clarity, National Highways is the Government-owned company, sponsored by the Department for Transport (DfT), charged with operating, maintaining and improving England's motorways and major A-roads. Responsibility for local roads, including Coombe Road, rests with local highway authorities (not National Highways), and the road network in other parts of the UK rests with the devolved administrations.

I am responding in the capacity of National Highways’ responsibility for operating, maintaining and improving England's motorways and major A-roads.

2 CORONER’S MATTERS OF CONCERN

The MATTERS OF CONCERN which were identified are as follows –

“That there is a lack of knowledge and/or understanding as to when people should report an obstruction in the road. I would request that consideration is given to making all road users aware of the dangers of obstructions in the road and to encourage them to report any hazard to the local Police force or Local Authority so that it can be removed as soon as possible, or at least other road users be warned of the hazard to prevent a future death.”

3 DETAILS OF ACTION TAKEN

Mr Wood’s death was a tragedy and our sympathies are with his family and friends.

At National Highways safety is at the forefront of every decision we make, and we are committed to the safety of everyone who uses our roads. Rule 280 of the Highway Code gives the following instruction to motorists in relation to obstructions – “If anything falls from a vehicle on to a motorway or other high-speed road, DO NOT remove the obstruction yourself. Stop in a place of relative safety (see Rule 275) and call the emergency services on 999. On other roads, you should only remove obstructions if it is safe to do so.” In September 2022, National Highways launched a road user notification study exploring additional actions that could be taken to further increase awareness among the public of what they can do if they spot someone in difficulty on any road. We have begun dialogue with external stakeholders. Our initial scoping discussions have revealed this to be a complex area which impacts and requires engagement with a wide range of public bodies (such as the Department for Transport, emergency services and local authorities) and other interested parties.

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More generally, National Highways has an ongoing national programme of road safety campaign activity, intended to provide important guidance to drivers to make journeys safer, easier and more reliable. This ongoing campaign work includes a specific section on breakdown advice.

We worked with external stakeholders to launch England’s first major campaign, in 2021, to raise awareness of the eCall or 'SOS' button function, which increasing numbers of newer cars come with. This button can be used to call for help, by the driver for themselves, or by the driver for someone else needing help, if a situation requires emergency services. This was on digital channels, including a dedicated campaign page on our website at nationalhighways.co.uk. The Highway Code as published by the Department for Transport was updated in September 2021, and also now advises the use of eCall to contact the police and to communicate a specific location directly to a 999 operator, under the Highway Code rules 277, 279 and 283. Further details are available on YouTube. We have since delivered further waves of the eCall awareness campaign, with updated messaging about using eCall if a driver sees somebody else in difficulty. In January 2022 we launched a ‘Driving on motorways' hub on our website, which provides a central point for our information and advice on motorway driving. The hub was launched alongside a multimedia campaign and radio day, with content featured on over 450 stations reaching over 6 million listeners. These activities were designed to provide even further information and safety advice to drivers travelling on all types of roads. We are committed to providing even more information that is accessible to drivers.

4 DETAILS OF FURTHER ACTION PROPOSED

National Highways remains committed to helping drivers and their passengers be even safer and feel safer on all roads for which we are responsible. We will continue with our programme of road safety campaign activity as described above, which is intended to provide important guidance to drivers to make journeys even safer, easier and more reliable.

We are also continuing the road user notification study launched in September 2022 as described above. It is our intention that, as part of the study, a shortlisted set of options will be prepared that could be implemented to further increase awareness among the public of what they can do if they spot someone in difficulty on any road. We plan to use the initial findings from our study to enable more detailed external stakeholder engagement to help shape these options. Subject to this wider engagement, we aim to complete the study by late Summer/Autumn 2023. Our next step will then be to prepare an implementation plan.

5 TIMETABLE FOR ACTION

DATE ACTION

Late Summer / Autumn 2023

Late Summer / Autumn 2023

Planned completion date of the road user notification study, subject to the wider engagement with external parties.

Prepare a shortlisted set of options that could be implemented, along with an implementation plan.

3 6 SAFETY OF ROAD USERS

The safety of everyone on all roads matters; it is an imperative for our business in what we set out to achieve and a core value of our organisation in how we go about it on the Strategic Road Network.

Although roads, especially high-speed roads, can never be risk-free environments, our absolute priority is the reduction of road deaths and injuries on our network.

Every road death is a tragic loss of life. We are determined to reduce the number of fatal incidents and injuries on the Strategic Road Network, and we want everyone who travels or works on any of our roads to feel confident and safe.

This is why we invest in road safety initiatives and public awareness campaigns, to help prevent death and injury and to help give drivers the information they need to have safer journeys. This is in addition to information provided in other areas, for example The Highway Code.

We urge road users to act safely and sensibly, including by informing themselves about what to do in an emergency, who to contact, and how to avoid dangerous situations where possible, thereby minimising the risks to themselves and other road users.

We remain committed to providing even more information that is accessible to drivers.

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31 March 2023 Signed:

Director of Road Safety Chief Executive

Dear Mrs Griffin

Re: Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths

I write to provide a response on behalf of Dorset Police and the key stakeholders of Dorset Road Safe to the Regulation 28 Report, received on the 8 February 2023, following the conclusion of the inquest touching the death of Stephen Robert Wood. You raised a concern in which your opinion is that urgent action should be taken to prevent future deaths. Your concern was: ‘That there is a lack of knowledge and/or understanding as to when people should report an obstruction in the road. I would request that consideration is given to making all road users aware of the dangers of obstructions in the road and to encourage them to report any hazard to the local Police force or Local Authority so that it can be removed as soon as possible, or at least other road users be warned of the hazard to prevent a future death.’

The report was sent to a number of stakeholders who have been involved in activity in response to the concern. One of my Chief Officers, Temporary Assistant Chief Constable chairs the Dorset Strategic Road Safety Partnership (DSRSP) and as such, it was seen as most appropriate to consolidate a response on behalf of the Partnership. DSRSP is the governance body of Dorset Road Safe (DRS). DRS is a partnership consisting of; Dorset Police, Dorset Council, BCP Council, Dorset & Wilts Fire Service, National Highways, South- West Ambulance Service Trust, DocBike, & Dorset’s Office of Police & Crime Commissioner (OPCC). Dorset Road Safe is a well established and strong partnership.

The partnership have proposed the following commitments in response to the concern raised. The DSRSP will formally ratify these commitments, at its next meeting to be held on 28 April 2023.

) Dorset Police Force Headquarters Winfrith DORCHESTER DT2 8DZ

3 April 2023

HM Coroner Mrs Rachael Griffin Coroner’s Office Civic Centre Bourne Avenue BOURNEMOUTH Dorset BH2 6DY

• Commitment 1 Websites for Dorset Police, the respective Local Authority for Dorset and BCP, along with National Highways, will all review and ensure there is a clear link to enable reporting of obstructions and debris on the road by the public.

These links will start with clear instructions and information to the public to call 999 if they believe any obstruction or debris is putting road users in immediate danger.

Further information on these respective websites, and in the same reference area, will also advise the public on how to report smaller, non-urgent debris.

All these websites will be cross-referenced to each other to ensure the public have the right information irrespective of which organisation they contact in the first instance.

Partnership members will be reviewing their respective websites and contact details, to ensure improvements can be made to assist the public in reporting any concerns on the roads around obstructions and debris.

• Commitment 2 Dorset Road Safe’s Partnership website will introduce a clear link around who to contact in respect of an obstruction/debris on the road. There will also be a section devoted to highlighting the associated dangers to road users.

This section of the website will act as a further cross-referencing point with all respective Partners, to ensure that the public are well informed and signposted to the correct organisation and method of contact.

• Commitment 3 Corporate communications colleagues from Police, Councils, and National Highways, we will be constructing a communications campaign, ready for this Spring/Summer’s increased road activity, to alert all road users around obstructions/debris on Dorset’s roads.

This will be conducted via various media platforms including DRS Twitter, and roadside Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS).

The sustainability of message will be an important part of this communications package, with partners ensuring that messaging continues at an agreed frequency in perpetuity, through various media – Roadside, twitter, websites etc..

In relation to those members of the public who call the police directly, our Force Command Centre (FCC) assess and triage all reports of road concerns, considering an appropriate response or deployment based on the threat and risk posed. They will also advise the respective Highway Authority where a police deployment is not considered necessary.

Partnership colleagues in both Councils and National Highways have good existing arrangements for the Public to report issues on the road.

I hope this letter provides you with the assurance that Dorset’s Road Safe Partnership is committed to keeping Dorset’s road network safe for everyone and has made specific commitments to mitigate the concerns raised as a result of this particular Preventing Future Deaths report.

Dear Mrs Griffin Regulation 28 - Report to Prevent Future Deaths

I write to provide a response on behalf of Dorset Council and the key stakeholders of Dorset Road Safe to the Regulation 28 Report, received on the 8 February 2023, following the conclusion of the inquest touching the death of Stephen Robert Wood. You raised a concern in which your opinion is that urgent action should be taken to prevent future deaths. Your concern was: ‘That there is a lack of knowledge and/or understanding as to when people should report an obstruction in the road. I would request that consideration is given to making all road users aware of the dangers of obstructions in the road and to encourage them to report any hazard to the local Police force or Local Authority so that it can be removed as soon as possible, or at least other road users be warned of the hazard to prevent a future death.’

The report was sent to a number of stakeholders who have been involved in activity in response to the concern. Temporary Assistant Chief Constable chairs the Dorset Strategic Road Safety Partnership (DSRSP) and as such, it was seen as most appropriate for Dorset Police to consolidate a response on behalf of the Partnership. DSRSP is the governance body of Dorset Road Safe (DRS). DRS is a partnership consisting of; Dorset Police, Dorset Council, BCP Council, Dorset & Wilts Fire Service, National Highways, South- West Ambulance Service Trust, DocBike, & Dorset’s Office of Police & Crime Commissioner (OPCC). Dorset Road Safe is a well established and strong partnership.

The Partnership have proposed the following commitments in response to the concern raised. The DSRSP will formally ratify these commitments, at its next meeting to be held on 28 April 2023.

• Commitment 1 Websites for Dorset Police, the respective Local Authority for Dorset and BCP, along with National Highways, will all review and ensure there is a clear link to enable reporting of obstructions and debris on the road by the public.

These links will start with clear instructions and information to the public to call 999 if they believe any obstruction or debris is putting road users in immediate danger.

Further information on these respective websites, and in the same reference area, will also advise the public on how to report smaller, non-urgent debris.

All these websites will be cross-referenced to each other to ensure the public have the right information irrespective of which organisation they contact in the first instance.

Partnership members will be reviewing their respective websites and contact details, to ensure improvements can be made to assist the public in reporting any concerns on the roads around obstructions and debris.
• Commitment 2 Dorset Road Safe’s Partnership website will introduce a clear link around who to contact in respect of an obstruction/debris on the road. There will also be a section devoted to highlighting the associated dangers to road users.

This section of the website will act as a further cross-referencing point with all respective Partners, to ensure that the public are well informed and signposted to the correct organisation and method of contact.

• Commitment 3 Corporate communications colleagues from Police, Councils, and National Highways, we will be constructing a communications campaign, ready for this Spring/Summer’s increased road activity, to alert all road users around obstructions/debris on Dorset’s roads.

This will be conducted via various media platforms including DRS Twitter, and roadside Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS).

The sustainability of message will be an important part of this communications package, with partners ensuring that messaging continues at an agreed frequency in perpetuity, through various media – Roadside, twitter, websites etc..

In relation to those members of the public who call the police directly, I have been advised that the Force Command Centre (FCC) assesses and triages all reports of road concerns, considering an appropriate response or deployment based on the threat and risk posed. They will also advise the respective Highway Authority where a police deployment is not considered necessary.

Partnership colleagues in both Councils and National Highways have good existing arrangements for the Public to report issues on the road.

I hope this letter provides you with the assurance that Dorset Council as a part of Dorset’s Strategic Road Safety Partnership is committed to keeping Dorset’s road network safe for everyone and has made specific commitments to mitigate the concerns raised as a result of this particular Preventing Future Deaths report.