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Investigation and inquest
On 6 December 2019 I commenced an Investigation into the death of Mr Zahid Ahmed, aged 19. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 14 January 2021.
The conclusion of the inquest was Road Traffic Collision.
Circumstances of the death
On the afternoon of 1 December 2019, Zahid Ahmed (where relevant, “the deceased”), aged 19 years, was a passenger in the rear nearside passenger seat of a blue Kia Sedona multi-person vehicle with five other occupants.
Whilst it was on the smart motorway at the M1 South Junction 11a, the Kia suffered a mechanical defect which caused it to lose power and the engine check light to illuminate on the instrument panel.
The Kia exited the main carriageway and entered an Emergency Refuge Area (ERA), where it remained stationary for approximately 12 seconds. The Kia re-entered the main carriageway and, shortly after, its hazard lights were illuminated. The Kia then stopped in lane one, approximately 145m south of the ERA, a section operating as a running lane with no hard shoulder. Three other vehicles were able to avoid colliding with the Kia.
At approximately 15:15 hours, a Polish registered black Scania R450 articulated heavy goods vehicle travelling at 56 MPH hit the rear of the Kia causing significant damage, and causing Mr Ahmed multiple traumatic injuries. At 16:37 hours a paramedic examined the body of the deceased at the scene and confirmed his death.
The road surface was good, and the weather conditions were cold but clear and dry. As the Kia was stationary and the parking brake applied, Mr Ahmed had probably removed his seatbelt (although I concluded in any event that a seatbelt would not have made any difference to the injuries he sustained).
The driver of the Scania had a clear and unobstructed view, allowing him between approximately 8 and 10 seconds to identify and react to the presence of the Kia, and to use the road space and time available either to stop safely in lane one or to move into lane two in order to avoid the collision.
The collision occurred primarily due to the failure of the Scania driver to perceive and respond to the presence of the Kia in enough time to avoid a collision, and also due to the presence of the Kia in a running lane of the motorway as no alternative was available to the driver after leaving the ERA.
The cause of Mr Ahmed’s death was determined to be:
Ia Multiple Traumatic Injuries
Ib
Ic
II
Coroner’s concerns
1) The stretch of the M1 motorway where this fatal collision occurred is part of the ‘Managed Motorway’, which runs from Junction 13 to Junction 10. It features variable speed limits and, in places, an ‘actively managed hard shoulder’, which is a hard shoulder that in certain circumstances may be driven on. Variable speed limit and ‘hard shoulder running’ information is conveyed to drivers via electronic matrix signals message boards, and verge signs positioned along the Managed Motorway. These signals are controlled by operators within the Highways Agency Eastern Regional Control Centre (ERCC). At around 400m south of the Toddington Services southbound entry, the hard shoulder commences and is managed for a distance of around 1.1 km, before the motorway becomes designated ‘All Lanes Running’ (ALR) again around 500m north of Junction 11a. Travelling south from Junction 12, however, the motorway is ALR, and there is no hard shoulder.
2) Detective Constable ████████, of the Bedfordshire Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit, gave evidence at Mr Ahmed’s inquest as follows: “The absence of a hard shoulder contributed to the collision. Had the [deceased’s] vehicle been able to stop in a location other than a live lane, the offending HGV would not have driven into the back of it”.
3) The vehicle in which the deceased was a passenger suffered a mechanical defect which caused it to lose power. It is not clear where the vehicle could have pulled to a halt in a safe place in these circumstances, given that there was no hard shoulder and all lanes were live. I consider that could create a risk of future deaths.
Information checked against the published report and official responses