Inquest into the death of Mijin SHIN
Deceased
Mijin Shin
Demographics
38y, female
Date of death
2012-05-02
Finding date
2014-11-05
Cause of death
Multiple injuries sustained as a result of being struck by a bus at the intersection of Hannah Street and Beecroft Road, Beecroft
AI-generated summary
Mijin Shin, age 38, died from multiple injuries sustained when struck by a bus at an intersection while legally crossing with the pedestrian signal. The bus driver did not see her due to a combination of: her small stature (155cm) placing her in the A-pillar blind spot of the bus; the driver's attention divided among multiple factors (navigating obstacles, an illegally parked SUV, signalling another vehicle); and the bus traveling at a speed similar to her crossing speed, keeping her persistently in the blind spot. The coroner found this was not a medical or clinical matter but a traffic safety issue. The key lesson is that smaller-statured pedestrians are particularly vulnerable to blind spot collisions with large vehicles, and traffic engineering modifications to intersections can reduce this risk.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Deceased's small stature (155cm) creating blind spot vulnerability
- Bus driver's divided attention during left-hand turn
- A-pillar blind spot of the bus
- Bus speed matching pedestrian crossing speed, keeping pedestrian in blind spot
- Illegally parked black SUV requiring navigation
- Intersection design allowing vehicle-pedestrian conflict during turning manoeuvre
Coroner's recommendations
- That the RMS consider carrying out a review and assessment of all 2-phase intersections on State roads to prioritise and implement the installation of traffic signal delay phasing so that vehicle traffic be held on a red light while a green walk sign permits pedestrians to leave the footpath unimpeded for a period of time
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