Media and Press
Driver may sue over A30 ice chaos
Tue 10th Nov 09 - 12:13
As featured in the Daily Mail, Mirror, Express, Daily Telegraph, This is Cornwall, Cornish Guardian, This is Devon, West Morning News.
THE Highways Agency could face a landmark legal action for failing to protect Westcountry motorists who were caught in treacherous weather earlier this year, writes WMN chief reporter Andy Greenwood.
A 40-mile stretch of the A30 between Okehampton in Devon and Bodmin in Cornwall was closed in both directions on January 21 after sheet ice sparked dozens of accidents.
In the worst incident on the main road, a 47-year-old man from Liskeard, South East Cornwall, was seriously hurt in a three-car crash at Trewint, near Launceston, Cornwall.
The man, a member of the Royal Navy, was on a life support machine for two days and spent three weeks in hospital.
He still suffers a number of ongoing health problems.
Solicitors acting on his behalf are now building a case against the Highways Agency for allegedly failing in its duty of care to drivers.
Richard Biggs, an Associate at Manchester-based Solicitors, Ralli, said that if the case was successful, it could lead to multiple claims.
"The law says that the Highways Agency, and local authorities, have a duty to keep roads clear of snow and ice, as far as reasonably practicable," said Mr Biggs. The test was whether it had "fulfilled that duty" on January 21.
Mr Biggs said the solicitors had already received a report by Devon and Cornwall Police into the incident at Trewint but the firm was hoping to trace witnesses to the conditions that day.
He added: "We are looking for people who can tell us about the state of the road on that day, what accidents they saw and what the driving conditions and weather were like."
No successful claim has been made against the Highways Agency, which is responsible for roads such as the A30, A38 and M5, after a recent change in the law.
Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, said he knew from personal experience how treacherous driving conditions in the area were on that day.
"In my view, there were two clear failures," he said yesterday. "Firstly, the Highways Agency was not proactive enough when there was plenty of intelligence beforehand that the conditions would be pretty serious.
"Then insufficient action was taken to ensure that road surfaces were safe. It is a classic case of an accident waiting to happen. Something went badly wrong on that day."
The emergency services recorded more than 40 road accidents in a two-hour period from just before 7am on January 21. Most of those involved walked away with minor injuries.
Police closed the A30 across Bodmin Moor for two-and-a-half hours until conditions eased.
At the time, a spokesman for the Highways Agency said road conditions had been "very difficult".
Salt had been laid early in the day but had been washed away by hail and showers, which then froze again.
He said the entire route covered by the agency was gritted at 4pm on January 20, between 11pm and 2am that night, with gritters going out again just before the rush-hour.
"We can't predict what the weather's going to be like just after it's been gritted, that's life," the spokesman said on the day of the accidents.
"And even when roads are gritted, it's not magic – drivers still need to take a great deal of care."
Yesterday, the Highways Agency confirmed that it was "in correspondence" with the legal firm but was unable to comment further.
Add Your Comment
- Ralli Solicitors LLP registered in England and Wales number OC354973. Ralli Solicitors LLP is Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority Number 539811.
- Ralli - Personal & Business Manchester Solicitors
Your Comments
Kevin Barker ADI Dip on 15-Nov-2009 10:51:29
Perhaps we should consider suing car manufacturer's rather than the Highways Agency, after all don't they supply us with all the technical equipment to avoid such things happening in the first place, ie ABS, Traction Control, ESP ect. Whatever safety features are fitted to the vehicle, you cannot defy the laws of gravity and unfortunately if you come into a situation to fast you will lose it, it's as simple as that. We have not had a bad winter in this country for well over 30 years, and when we do believe you me, everything will come to a standstill because the Highways Agency will not have the equipment or the manpower to cope with it.
Connie Spriggs on 11-Nov-2009 18:32:50
I span my car on that stretch of road on that day for a good 50 yards before a sign post stopped my car, and ended up with severe concussion and off work for two weeks plus my car ended up being repaired on my insurance as there were no other cars involved!!
I crashed at 7:30 in the morning, the temperature was -5 on my gauge and when I finally got out the car you could not even stand on the ice let alone drive on it as the rain earlier had washed the grit off. When I called the police, because I was blocking the lane of the A30 facing traffic the wrong way,they called back 5 minutes later and asked if I could take my car off the road as they did not have enough officers to deal with the incident. Luckily a good samaritan pulled up behind me in a pick up truck directed the traffic around my car and followed me off the A30 where I waited for a friend an hour later to pick me up at the next junction.
I lost my no claims bonus of 5 years, 2 weeks off work and being petrified of going out in icy weather!!
I am hoping for a mild winter!!! The highways agency must of known the conditions and should of sshut the road and warned people not to go out if they could not guarantee people's safety.
I have no trust in their organisation.