Finding into death of Andrew Clough
Deceased
ANDREW CLOUGH
Demographics
37y, male
Date of death
2007-07-04
Finding date
2010-03-04
Cause of death
Multiple injuries (motor vehicle impact - driver)
AI-generated summary
A 37-year-old male driver died from multiple injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision at an intersection with deficient road safety features. The collision occurred in dark, wet conditions on an unfamiliar road. The coroner found that VicRoads failed to maintain the Myers Road/Balnarring Road intersection to appropriate safety standards—signage was deficient, reflectivity was absent, and road markings were inadequate. A Stop sign was undersized for a 100 kph zone and offered no advance warning. The coroner noted a missed opportunity to assess the intersection after a similar collision in November 2006. The deceased driver, who was a cautious driver, had no reasonable warning he was approaching a Stop sign. The clinical lesson is indirect: this case highlights the importance of environmental factors in injury prevention and the consequences of systems failures in road safety maintenance.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Deficient road signage at intersection
- Absent reflectivity on Stop sign
- Inadequate road markings
- Undersized Stop sign for 100 kph zone
- No advance warning Stop sign
- Poor visibility conditions (dark, raining)
- Unfamiliarity with intersection
- Overhanging vegetation affecting sightlines
- VicRoads inspection process failure to identify deficiencies
- Missed opportunity to assess intersection after November 2006 collision
Coroner's recommendations
- VicRoads conduct an audit of the manner in which it meets its statutory obligations to ensure deficiencies in road markings and signage at intersections are identified and rectified
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