Dear Mr Covell

Regulation 28 Report – Caitlin Ann SWAN (deceased)

Thank you for your letter of 28th April 2021 and the accompanying Regulation 28 Report, in connection with the recent inquest into the tragic death of Caitlin Ann Swan.

Although I was unable to attend the inquest on the day, I subsequently viewed the recording and have also visited the site of the collision. I have discussed the findings of the inquest and your recommendations with senior officers of Cornwall Council, and am pleased to confirm that they have approved the provision of additional warning signing.

Notwithstanding this, I would like to correct a perhaps misleading impression that may have been given at the inquest about such signs. I note that at one point it was suggested that the provision of junction warning signs would be “normal”; this could imply the absence of such a sign is some form of specific omission, of course. I can assure you this is not the case, and the formal guidance on their provision is:

“Warning signs…should only be used where there is a specific safety issue or hazard, not to sign readily apparent conditions or routine features of the road, such as bends or junctions. Overuse of warning signs can dilute their effectiveness and tends to bring them into disrepute…care should be taken that a route is treated consistently…

“Junction warning signs should be used sparingly where there is a justification. They are not normally provided on very minor rural roads….They may of course be used where a specific need has been identified.” (Traffic Signs Manual Chapter 4, pars.1.6.2 & 2.2.6)

In other words, warning signs are not routinely provided at every junction (or any other hazard) but are considered on merit at each site, usually in the context of the route, accident history, speed, visibility and similar factors. I hope that this is helpful in clarifying this matter for future reference.

In the case of the Trebost junction at Tubbon Hill, the junction is marked with a direction sign, turning movements are infrequent, approach speeds are fairly well constrained by the nature of the road,

Information Classification: CONTROLLED forward visibility in the context of speed is fairly good, and no other collisions – of any type – had been recorded in the previous twenty years. The absence of a junction warning sign was therefore not unusual in this situation.

I would emphasize however, that in view of the awful collision at the end of 2019, and its particular circumstances, Cornwall Council has no hesitation in accepting your recommendation in this instance, and additional signing will be erected as soon as reasonably practicable.