Samuel Shaw

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.

HIGHWAYS AGENCY 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 g > t
- 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

HIGHWAYS AGENCY 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:
• Assess the current level of demand for crossing the carriageway;
• Appraise the existing NMU routes in this vicinity;
• 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.