Crash junction still poses risk to life - coroner

Motorcyclist Charlotte Noordam was killed when she was hit by a car after failing to comply with a stop sign at the junction between Frederick Road and St James Road, in Edgbaston

A council has been warned by a coroner to take action to make a Birmingham road junction safer after a motorcyclist was killed in a crash.

Rider Charlotte Noordam was on Frederick Road in Edgbaston on 8 March, when she failed to comply with a stop sign at the junction with St James Road and was hit by an MG3 car, assistant coroner Ana Samuel was told.

Ms Samuel told an inquest into Ms Noordam's death that there had been at least 27 other incidents at the junction with St James Road, between May 2014 and March this year.

She also said there was evidence from Birmingham City Council, which has been contacted for comment, to indicate there were potential measures it could take.

In a report to the city council, Ms Samuel said that at 14:10 GMT on 8 March Ms Noordam "crossed into the path of and into collision with" the car, after failing to stop at the junction.

'Inherent confusion'

The MG driver was travelling with right of way along St James Road, the assistant coroner for Birmingham and Solihull said, and access to the street from Frederick Road was "controlled by a STOP".

Access onto St James Road from Frederick Road was also controlled by a give way sign, she said, and both streets had a 20mph (32km/h) speed limit.

Following a post-mortem examination, the medical cause of Ms Noordam's death was from multiple injuries she sustained in the crash, the coroner stated.

Ms Samuel said that during the inquest, evidence had emerged that "revealed matters giving rise to concern".

The council had said that if a junction was being designed from scratch, it would oppose using a non-signalled crossroad junction, because of "the inherent confusion around priority of movement", Ms Samuel said.

"Whilst the road layout, including signage and road markings, complies with the legal requirements, this does not appear to have mitigated against the prevalence of incidents at the stop junction," she said.

'Prevent future deaths'

A police investigator gave evidence that, in his experience, the number of collisions at the stop junction raised questions about its safety, the coroner stated.

Ms Samuel added that evidence from the council suggested there were "potentially additional measures that could be considered to mitigate any safety risks so far as reasonably practicable".

"I am concerned that there is still a risk to life for users of the junction," she concluded.

"In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action."