National highways chiefs say nothing will be done at notorious bend where biker died
National highways officials have responded to Shropshire's senior coroner saying nothing will be done to a notorious accident black spot where a motorcyclist died near Oswestry.
Adrian Oulds, regional director for the Midlands at Highways England, said it was the responsibility of nearby landowners to improve visibility along the A483 trunk road at Sweeney.
It comes after Daniel Mark Hughes died instantly when his bike collided with a car emerging from a driveway with restricted views in June 2017.
Following a lengthy and complicated inquest, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin's senior coroner, John Ellery, wrote to the Highways England National Traffic Operations Centre saying "there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken".
Mr Ellery said: "Action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action".
But in a response to Mr Ellery, Mr Oulds said a review focusing on three areas of concern, visibility, the speed limit and warning signs, found nothing could be done by highways officials to make the road safer.
Mr Oulds admitted visibility was "restricted", but said the obstructions were all on private land.
He added that a speed limit review from 2016, a year before the accident took place, found 85 per cent of vehicles were found to be travelling below the 60mph limit, meaning further measures were not necessary.
Lastly, Mr Oulds said Highways England "does not have the power" to erect a "concealed entrance warning sign", and that even if it did, this could add to the visibility obstructions.
"Responsibility for the visibility exiting a property entrance is that of the property owner and not Highways England," said Mr Oulds.
"Any steps to improve the visibility would also require amendments to boundary walls, fences and hedgerows on land which is not owned by Highways England. Therefore, no action is proposed.
"Recent surveys found the speed limit to be both appropriate and adhered to by the majority of road users at this location, as a result there are currently no plans to reduce the speed limit in this location.
"Should the property owner seek to place a privately-owned warning sign on private land adjacent to and visible from the highway they could do so at their own risk, this may be a solution the property owner could explore if they wish to."
