Junction safety concerns over motorcyclist's death

A coroner has published a report highlighting safety concerns over a stretch of road where a motorcyclist died when he collided with a car pulling out of a junction.

Nathan Cyster's Suzuki GSX8-S motorbike and a BMW X5 crashed on the A5 Watling Street at Moss Farm Shop, near Norton Canes, Staffordshire, on 29 March.

The 28-year-old's inquest last month heard there were concerns the road layout, a lack of clear signage and legal ambiguities created a potentially hazardous environment for road users.

Coroner Daniel Howe this week shared a Prevention of Future Deaths report with the Department of Transport, National Highways and Moss Farm, all of whom have until 27 March to respond.

Howe said the driver of the BMW pulled out from the car park at Moss Farm Shop on to the A5, intending to turn right towards Cannock and the Turf Island roundabout.

To do so, they needed to cross a carriageway, and the coroner's report said the driver of another car had flashed their headlights ahead of the manoeuvre.

However, two motorbikes, including one ridden by Cyster, were overtaking slow moving traffic.

The first rider avoided the BMW, but Cyster's bike hit the offside of the car, causing him to be thrown off his motorbike and to be fatally injured.

The coroner raised a number of concerns about the junction – including the need for vehicles leaving Moss Farm Shop to cross a lane of traffic approaching from their right, go over double white lines and then pass through a filter lane before joining the main carriageway.

This created "a complex and potentially hazardous manoeuvre for drivers," he said.

He also raised concerns that, unlike other nearby businesses, there was no "left turn only" signage at the farm shop. The BBC has approached the business for comment.

Howe said although the double solid white lines and hatched areas were intended to stop overtaking by vehicles - including motorcycles - CCTV footage from the day of the crash and a separate three-hour period showed seven motorcycles and one car overtook on the prohibited section.

The CCTV analysis also showed 28% of cars turning right out of the farm shop junction in the same period, he added.

Howe said there was also differing guidance in the Highway Code and on government websites about turning right over double white lines when leaving premises.

"This contradiction may lead to different drivers having different understandings of the law," the coroner said.

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