Inquest into the Death of Susanne VAN DER SCHOOT
Deceased
Susanne VAN DER SCHOOT
Demographics
20y, female
Date of death
2012-04-03
Finding date
2016-04-21
Cause of death
Multiple injuries sustained in motor vehicle crash at Murray Road/South West Highway intersection
AI-generated summary
A 20-year-old Dutch tourist died in a motor vehicle crash at a hazardous intersection between Murray Road and the South West Highway in Western Australia. The intersection had long-standing visibility problems with inadequate sight distances, partially obscured stop signs due to vegetation, and poor design. While the driver was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death and acquitted, the coroner found the intersection itself presented significant public safety hazards. Key preventable factors included: failure to clear vegetation obstructing the stop sign, inadequate maintenance of the intersection despite a 2010 safety audit identifying high-risk visibility issues, and lack of additional warning signage. The Shire prioritised closing the intersection via an alternate route over addressing low-cost, immediate safety improvements. The coroner noted that better intersection maintenance and clearer warning signage could have potentially prevented this death.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Contributing factors
- Inadequate sight distances at intersection not meeting Austroads standards
- Vegetation obscuring stop sign visibility
- Stop sign placement suboptimal relative to guide posts
- Poor intersection design with limited lines of sight from all directions
- Unsealed road surface with dust and gravel affecting visibility and braking
- Lack of additional discretionary warning signage identifying the highway
- Intersection design not suitable for heavy vehicle movements
- Shire prioritised long-term closure over immediate low-cost safety improvements
- Delay in implementing recommendations from 2010 safety audit
- Unfamiliarity of overseas driver with Australian road conditions and signage
Coroner's recommendations
- Removal of vegetation impeding visibility of regulatory stop signs should have been conducted with available funds
- Discretionary warning signs should be considered in future where there are accepted road safety difficulties and expectations of increased tourism
- The Shire and Main Roads should strengthen relationship and maintain full-time workers to ensure optimal maintenance of regulatory and other visual clues on road networks
- Advisory committee for prioritisation of road network spending should be maintained with more formalised communication lines, especially on outcomes of safety audits
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