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Inquest held on cyclist killed as he pushed bike on unlit road

John Page was struck by bus close to Hinkley Point C power station construction site in Somerset in January

A coroner's inquest has heard evidence from a number of motorists who said that they were unable to see a cyclist who was killed when he was hit by a bus as he walked his bike along an unlit road near the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station construction site in Somerset.

John Page, aged 50 and from Bridgwater, had dismounted his bike and was walking along the left-hand side of the road when he was struck by the bus at 5.27pm on the evening of Monday 20 January, reports SomersetLive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Alexander Steer, the driver of the Somerset Passenger Solution double decker bus that struck Mr Page, had picked up workers from the construction site owned by EDF Energy to take them to a park & ride facility.

In a statement read out at Somerset Coroner’s Court in Taunton, he said: “I was driving on an unlit stretch and I had my head beams on and I was aware another Somerset Passenger Solutions bus was travelling behind me. I recall there was traffic coming towards me in the opposite direction.

“Everything seemed all normal. I was travelling at about 40mph when suddenly I heard a bang and looked to my nearside and I could see the nearside screen had been damaged.

“I probably said, 'What the hell was that?' and I just hadn't seen anything. I had no idea what had hit the windscreen but I had braked and stopped to see what had happened.

“I couldn't open the door as the automatic release wouldn't operate but a passenger then gave me a hand to open the doors.

“I then found the bus had collided with a cyclist. I remained at the scene and I was interviewed at the scene by police.

“I am not able to say the range and view I had but all I can say is that I could not see the cyclist at all.”

Somerset Senior Coroner Tony Williams referred to a number of other witness statements in which conditions on the road were described as “very dark” due to the absence of street or ambient lighting.

Some motorists travelling on the same road before the fatal crash described how they could hardly see Mr Page, who was said to be dressed in dark clothing and with no reflective material on his clothing or on his bike.

EDF Energy worker Kerry Henderson said: “All of a sudden, I saw a person to my left about two or three metres ahead of my car, which took me by surprise as I had not seen it before.

“The person, which I could not tell was male or female, was wearing black trousers, a black top with a red stripe on it with a dark coloured push bike. It all happened very quickly.”

A post-mortem established that Mr Page had died due to multiple injuries, and no trace of alcohol or drugs was found in his blood.

The bus was found by Avon & Somerset Police to be in good condition with no defects, and an investigation absolved the bus driver of any blame.

A small LED light was found at the scene, but “would not have been particularly bright,” according to PC Anthony Lewington, who investigated CCTV and dashcam footage related to the incident.

“It is evident from this that it was difficult to see Mr Page,” he said. “Several witnesses contacted the police to state who they say was the cyclist walking along the road prior to the collision.

“They all confirmed he was wearing dark clothing and could not be easily seen.

“They describe narrowly missing this person, having to swerve to avoid him or seeing vehicles having to swerve to avoid him.

“In my opinion, there was insufficient time available to Mr Steer to detect or identify Mr Page on the carriageway and as such, Mr Steer would not have been able to react to avoid the collision,” he added.

Mr Williams agreed that it would have been difficult for motorists to have seen Mr Page, and said: “I will record a conclusion of a road traffic collision, noting that on January 20, 2020, on Hinkley Point Road in Bridgwater, John Page, whilst pushing his bicycle and wearing dark clothing in an area with no ambient lighting, was struck by a bus resulting in him sustaining fatal injuries.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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34 comments

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jacknorell | 3 years ago
0 likes

The (clearly unintended) irony of SocratiCyclist's username would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.

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ktache | 3 years ago
5 likes

There does seem to be attitude for some drivers of "ploughing on regardless" especailly at night, I'd like to point out that fallen trees don't abide by the HC and wear Hi Viz, reflectives or lights.  They are exactly the colour of the background.

And sometimes, they don't even notice a large roundabout, here's me breaking my habits and posting a link to the Telegraph.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/31/worst-roundabout-britain-mul...

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gazza_d | 3 years ago
5 likes

Lots of arguments about whether the person killed should have been wearing reflectives - half five on a late January is pretty much dark.

I don't see many asking why there isn't a path for people to walk on what sounds like a fairly busy link road near industry.

What had victim been wearing visible clothing and still killed. It would not be the first time

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srchar | 3 years ago
3 likes

What has the side of the road got to do with it? Even peds sticking to the HC advice will be on either side of the road, depending on which direction they are walking in.

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fenix replied to srchar | 3 years ago
4 likes

You've never had to run down a road without any pavement have you ? 

I did this just the once - in broad daylight with a bright teeshirt on. I was very visible, but drivers who tailgate are a real problem.  First driver can see me easily. Second driver can only see me when I'm about 10 yards away.  I had to jump into the hedge once or twice. 

At least you can act to help save yourself if you can see the danger. 

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Dingaling replied to srchar | 3 years ago
1 like

A great deal in my opinion. As a child I was taught NEVER to walk on the side of the road with my back to the traffic. It is not about the front of my head being lighter than the back (as some seem to think) but about my eyes being in the front. When I can see what is coming towards me I know where I need to be. Walking on the side of the road with your back to the traffic in the dark is plain stupid.

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fenix | 3 years ago
4 likes

Awful thing to happen.

Clearly motorists aren't driving around as cautiously as they should be. This is not news to anyone that's ever been on the roads.

Please use lights and have reflectives. 

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Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
7 likes

I'm going to be the contrary one here. Sounds like a tragic accident to me and while its tempting to blame the bus driver or an anti cycling copper that doesn't seem reasonable to me.

Its not reasonable to expect a bus or car driver to pootle along on the off chance there is a poorly visible cyclist.  Multiple witnesses have said he wasn't visible and as much as we'd like to find someone to blame it doesn't seem that anyone was at fault.  It's not clear why he wa walking or whether that would have made a difference.  Maybe there is a chance to review the road layout & lighting but it's not clear from the article whether that contributed.

Sometimes sh*t just happens.

Thoughts to his family.

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OnYerBike replied to Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
9 likes

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Its not reasonable to expect a bus or car driver to pootle along on the off chance there is a poorly visible cyclist.  

I'm sorry, but that is exactly what is reasonable to expect.

Highway Code Rule 126: Drive at a speed that will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear.

Highway Code Rule 125: You should always reduce your speed when [...] driving at night as it is more difficult to see other road users.

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Secret_squirrel replied to OnYerBike | 3 years ago
4 likes

Sorry both irrelevant in this case.  The reasonableness test isn't satisfied by a militant cyclist on road.cc looking for someone to blame.  Neither the coroner nor the police called out the bus drivers behaviour as unreasonable.
 

125 &126 aren't particularly relevant in this case.  Assuming the road speed is 60 (hard to find out) most people are going to agree that on a dark but dry night 40 is a reasonable speed.  It's unreasonable of us to expect otherwise.

There are plenty more deaths on the roads where the circumstances have been far less reasonable.  I suggest you save your energy for those.   This particular howl of outrage is pointless and ineffective. 

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mdavidford replied to Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
4 likes

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Neither the coroner nor the police called out the bus drivers behaviour as unreasonable.

Perhaps because of decades of social conditioning to see getting motor vehicles to where they're going as fast as possible as the primary consideration, and deaths on the roads as just a natural cost of this.

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Since he was on the wrong side of the road for a pedestrian then yes it can be argued it's unreasonable.

So if he'd happened to be walking in the opposite direction the driver would magically have seen and avoided him?

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OnYerBike replied to Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
7 likes

I think they are both relevant here. I agree that most of the public would find the bus driver's actions reasonable - but I think that is the problem. We, as a country, have seem to have accepted that people's desire to travel faster than is safe is "reasonable". The fact that neither the police nor coroner mentioned it just highlights how systemic this issue is (although the coroner's remarks, as given here, are entirely factual and don't appear to either blame or exonerate the driver).

This isn't just about cyclists' safety either - indeed there are plenty of occassions when the victims are in cars (and in this case I would note the victim was a pedestrian pushing a bike). 

Maybe there are more ridiculous cases than this one, but that doesn't mean it's OK to drive into someone because you didn't see them. I really believe we could prevent many unnecessary deaths and injuries if everyone followed the highway code - yes this applies to pedestrians and cyclists too, but I think the evidence is clear that most of the harm is done by drivers of motor vehicles.

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brooksby replied to Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
5 likes

Firstly, I think the bus driver should not be driving along assuming that the road will be completely clear (my own memories of driving through the Cambrian Mountains years ago, middle of the night, and encountering a farmer's trailer parked next to a field gate with no lights or reflectors come to mind...).

However, I would ask why the dismounted cyclist was walking along the left of the road (ie. with his back to traffic).  IIRC the guidance is to walk facing the traffic?

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srchar replied to Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
4 likes

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Its not reasonable to expect a bus or car driver to pootle along on the off chance there is a poorly visible cyclist. 

What if he hadn't happened to be pushing a bike at the time? Is it unreasonable to expect a driver to see someone walking at the side of a road?

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Multiple witnesses have said he wasn't visible

Do you realise that this means he had become invisible, which isn't actually something people can do. It always amazes me that people accept this sorry excuse for not paying attention as if it's a fact. Cars have headlights. You can easily spot a person, even wearing dark clothing, if you're paying attention. Heck, you can even see squirrels dashing across the road in your headlights. Last time I checked, they didn't use lights or wear hi-viz.

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Secret_squirrel replied to srchar | 3 years ago
2 likes

Since he was on the wrong side of the road for a pedestrian then yes it can be argued it's unreasonable.  It's the coroners job to apply that reasonable test not ours.

He was certainly functionally invisible, the rest of your comment is irrelevant as is the squirrel comment.  Unless you were there on that night under those conditions you have no basis to speculate whether he was easily visible or not.  Multiple witnesses say not, and there appears to be no evidence to contradict them.  Wishing there was does not make it so.

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Captain Badger replied to Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
3 likes

"Wrong" side of the road is irrelevant here as it is to allow pedestrians to see what's coming. it matters not a jot to the standard of driving itself

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Hirsute replied to Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
3 likes

Part of my journey home is unlit 60. I did see a pedestrian once who was in dark clothes so I thought I'd try and track them but with on coming traffic, I completely lost them in the headlights.
I can see that it would be, on occasion, very hard to see someone.
I'm not sure telling people to drive at 10mph is the answer. Pedestrians need to take some responsibility, although clearly not equal with drivers.

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brooksby replied to srchar | 3 years ago
2 likes

srchar wrote:

Heck, you can even see squirrels dashing across the road in your headlights. Last time I checked, they didn't use lights or wear hi-viz.

Unless they are secret...  3

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Captain Badger replied to srchar | 3 years ago
4 likes

And he clearly wasn't invisible, as many witnesses saw him....

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Hirsute replied to Captain Badger | 3 years ago
4 likes

But at what point did they see him?
I've "seen" cyclists at night when they are coming the other way and almost level with me. I would not describe them as 'visible'.

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Captain Badger replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
2 likes

You would have to ask them, but see him they did. He was not invisible. 

In your experience you mentioned those coming the other way and you don't see them until they are on you. It's likely that you are paying less attention to the opposite side of the road than yours (understandably). They are no less visible though.

This is what I think happened here. He was driving too fast and not paying sufficient attention

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Hirsute replied to Captain Badger | 3 years ago
2 likes

You make it sound very binary whereas there are degrees of visibility ie visible from a distance of X metres where X depends on various factors.

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Captain Badger replied to Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
3 likes

It's not only reasonalbe, it is a legal requirement.

If the driver was unable to see, identify and take action before impact as there wasn't enough time, then they were going too fast. 40mph on a road that has no footpath alongside?

And if evidence were needed, we have it in the fact that someone has been hit and killed.

Yes, if you are driving negligently,  sometimes sh*t happens. You've summed it up concisely

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John Smith replied to Captain Badger | 3 years ago
4 likes

It's amazing how many people are on the road through shear luck of not hitting somthing. Yes, it might make someone safer to wear high viz at night on an unlit road, but that is for them, not the drivers benefit. Animals, trees, broken down cars and debris in the road don't have high viz.

As for the coroners comments, it is not for the Coroner to decide, or appear to decide any question of criminal or civil liability or to apportion guilt or attribute blame. The fact that comment was made on the cyclists clothing is mearly a statement of fact, that dark clothing makes you harder to see, not an opinion on blame or fault.

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brooksby | 3 years ago
3 likes

Where is the national campaign explaining that all pedestrians need to wear helmets, body armour, fluorescent or reflective clothing, etc, etc?

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EK Spinner | 3 years ago
7 likes

“In my opinion, there was insufficient time available to Mr Steer to detect or identify Mr Page on the carriageway and as such, Mr Steer would not have been able to react to avoid the collision,” he added.

Surely the PC should have said "Mr Steer was driving the bus to fast to be able to stop within the distance he could see was clear ahead"

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Projectcyclingf... | 3 years ago
3 likes

CYCLIST LIFES MATTER !
Clearly, it does not to those having entirety blamed the poor victim, including the dubious cop investigating an actual killer bus driver.
Their statements are typical of anti-cylist fanatics having ignored the fact that the victim was a pedestrian at the time he was killed.
And it's for drivers to adjust their speeds to safer limits if their visibility is poor..."40 mph' is far too fast for a bus in conditions described.

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mdavidford replied to Projectcyclingfitness | 3 years ago
5 likes

Projectcyclingfitness wrote:

CYCLIST LIFES MATTER ! Clearly, it does not to those having entirety blamed the poor victim, including the dubious cop investigating an actual killer bus driver. Their statements are typical of anti-cylist fanatics having ignored the fact that the victim was a pedestrian at the time he was killed. And it's for drivers to adjust their speeds to safer limits if their visibility is poor..."40 mph' is far too fast for a bus in conditions described.

No - it wasn't a killer bus driver:

Quote:

“I then found the bus had collided with a cyclist."

See? The bus did it all by itself. The driver had no influence in the matter.

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grumpyoldcyclist | 3 years ago
15 likes

I know what we should do, put lights on the front of vehicles and ask drivers to drive within that range of vision. Sorted
RIP John Page

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I like bikes replied to grumpyoldcyclist | 3 years ago
6 likes

Sounds like a great idea, could also punish them for driving without enough care and attention

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