(Warning: this article relates to a recent fatal road collision which some readers may find upsetting.)
An update on last month’s fatality at Witcham Toll and resulting road safety considerations
On Saturday 20 May, a motor vehicle travelling westbound on the A142 at Witcham Toll approaching the garage collided with a motorbike leaving the petrol station. The motorcyclist sadly succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead by Helemed.
On Thursday 1 June, county council and police officers carried out a site visit of the collision location. Following the site visit, possible solutions were discussed. These included moving the speed limit east to provide a buffer supported by enhanced signage and markings. Once police investigations are complete and the solutions have been fully considered, recommendations will be made and shared.
An individual was arrested soon after the collision and charged with various offences. It is not possible to provide a timescale for the outcome of any criminal process.
Collision investigation
Fatal collisions are investigated by the Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit and the Forensic Collision Unit, who carry out detailed investigations into the circumstances of a fatal crash. The resulting report is submitted to the Coroner as evidence for the inquest, or made available for prosecution purposes in the event of criminal charges being brought.
The Police Traffic Management Officer provides details of fatal collisions to the County Council as soon as possible after the collision has occurred. This is summarised by the Research Group within the council’s Strategy and Partnerships Directorate.
Following receipt of the initial notification, the County Road Safety Engineering Team carry out an investigation to establish whether there are any highway issues that may have contributed to the fatal collision. Where immediate interventions are identified as being required, these will be delivered as soon as possible and do not need to await the conclusion of the full investigation. This process is summarised below.
- A site visit is carried out for all fatal incidents unless deemed unnecessary by the reviewing officer, such as a confirmed medical episode or a confirmed suicide. If this is the case, the reason will be recorded on the register used to record all road traffic collisions resulting in fatal injury.
- The relevant maintenance engineer for the area is involved in the CCC fatal collision review process. Relevant maintenance records are reviewed as part of the process.
- A police representative will be invited to the site meeting and will attend where they are able to make a contribution to the investigation process.
- Further information is sought where required from the investigating officer at the Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit. Any information from this source must be treated as confidential and care taken about any details passed on.
- A record of any findings from the site visit and recommendations for remedial actions are recorded as an outcome from the process.
- Proposed measures would usually be put forward to Cambridgeshire County Council’s Road Safety Manager for approval to progress and deliver where appropriate.
This process can take some time, which can be frustrating for those who understandably want to see swift action to improve road safety following a collision such as this. However, given the sensitivities it is important to avoid speculative commentary regarding the cause of any collision ahead of the outcome of the investigation.
Cllr Mark Inskip and I are grateful to those who have taken the time and trouble to contact us with comments and suggestions following the fatality. We will continue to liaise with the County Council over the road safety considerations here once investigations have concluded and more information is available.
Traffic lights at the junction is the only sure way to slow traffic.
Thank you, Gary. It’s currently a difficult set of junctions all round, that’s for sure.
Hi Lorna I’m Trevor Sulman from Slade farm witcham
I’ve seen the traffic situation increase dramatically over the last few years
It’s always a accident waiting to happen, surely there should be no right turn from haddenham at the junction and no right turn out of the garage.!
Would it be so difficult to have a speed limit of 30 through the junction it’s a crazy situation turning in either direction
The lorries are currently hertling through at max speed you have to live locally to see what’s happening
Both my boys drive and I fear for there safety
I’m not for one to Moan but this surely is common sense
Kind regards Trevor
Thank you for your useful comments and first-hand observations, Trevor. The right turns out of Witcham Toll junction and out of the petrol station aren’t good. I can see the benefits of a left turn only system at those junctions, but that would presumably send traffic all the way up to the Sutton (Elean) roundabout to turn back towards Ely which would increase traffic in both directions along that stretch of the A142 and make it much more difficult to turn right into The Slade, unless there was a roundabout at The Slade junction which is very close to the Witcham Toll junction so that sounds like quite a significant realignment all round. I agree the speed limit could be revisited. Time for a discussion when the investigations have been concluded and some recommendations made. What a tragic event.
Speed limit should be 30, there are residents and street lights. Its not just getting out of the roads that’s difficult, getting out of your drive is difficult too.