Joshua Steven BROWN · Prevention of Future Deaths report

The inquest into the death of Mr Joshua Brown was opened on the 6th December 2012 and was resumed on the 19th January 2015 with a jury. It was concluded on 17th April 2015.
The jury found that the cause of death was:
1a – Head and neck injury.
The jury concluded with a narrative and a short form conclusion of ‘Road Traffic Collision’.
Within their narrative conclusion the jury determined that the driving of the police officer was appropriate prior to joining the A31 and on the A31, in accordance with his driver training, he took the outside lane. However, in the brief time between his initial contact with the patchy fog and the collision, his dynamic risk assessment and hence his speed was inappropriate. They also found that, at the point of collision, Mr Brown was walking in lane 2 with his back to any potential traffic. The jury concluded that both these elements had contributed to the road traffic collision.

At shortly after 03.30 hours on the 1st December 2012, a police vehicle driven by a Surrey police officer, left Guildford town centre in order to respond to a grade 1 call in Farnham. The route taken by the vehicle left Guildford on the A3 and went onto the A31 Hog’s Back, West bound. The Hog’s Back is situated on top of the downs and is an isolated road. At the point where the collision occurred it is an unlit dual carriageway where the two sets of lanes are divided by an area of mature trees and bushes. The weather in Guildford was reasonably clear, but as the vehicle climbed the hill onto the downs it became increasingly foggy. On the Hog’s Back itself there was patchy dense fog. At the time of his death Joshua Brown was serving in the REME and was based at an army camp in the Farnham area. He had been in Guildford the previous evening and had become separated from his friends. At the point of the collision he was about one metre into the outside lane of the dual carriageway from its offside edge. His arm was outstretched with his thumb uppermost, as if he was ‘thumbing a lift’.
At the point of impact the speed of the vehicle was 81 mph and visibility was reduced, by reason of the fog, to 30 metres. In the circumstances it would not have been possible to have avoided a collision.

Night-time driver training
Consideration should be given to amending the national requirement for police driver training so as to include a compulsory element of practical in-car training for driving at night-time.