Coroner slams 111 road alerts

An effective 111 road hazard warning system could have saved a man killed after his motorbike skidded on ice, a coroner has said.

In findings released yesterday into the death of Nelson motorcyclist Kevin Silke, Blenheim coroner Peter Radich said current systems for reporting road hazards were "inadequate".

Mr Silke, 47, died on June 12 last year after his motorcycle skidded under a van on an icy Wairau Bridge on State Highway 6 near Renwick.

The coroner said Mr Silke's death might have been avoided if hazard reporting systems had been more accessible, more effective, and well understood by the motoring public.

While a member of the public had contacted local roading authorities about the icy conditions on the morning of the crash, several factors meant the information was not acted on in time to prevent it.

Mr Radich has now called on the Government to consider the issue of how the public should best go about reporting road hazards.

"As things presently stand there will be motorists who will be uncertain about what to do when faced with a hazard on the road," he said.

Transit New Zealand expects urgent calls about its state highway systems to go to 111 while less-urgent notification should be made through its 0800 4 highways telephone service.

During the inquest, however, police indicated that all calls from the public relating to immediate or potential roading hazards should be made to the 111 emergency system.

Mr Radich's request comes just days after a damning report into the 111 system found that it suffered from inadequate resourcing and that the ability of police to respond to genuine emergencies was compromised by non-urgent calls.

Transit Wellington regional manager Graham Taylor said his agency would work with police to get an effective way of reporting road hazards.

Until established, he said the best option was for motorists to call 111.

Police Minister George Hawkins has referred the coroner's report to Police Commissioner Rob Robinson as something to consider as part of an overhaul of the 111 system.

While a general warning existed on the morning of the accident, a sign giving immediate warning of icy or gritty conditions had not been activated.

A Havelock woman who had skidded on the bridge earlier that morning reported the icy conditions to Marlborough Roads 10 minutes before the fatal crash at 8.15am.

The call was answered by Blenheim minding service Call Care but not passed on quickly, although Mr Radich did not think that failure made a difference in this case.

- NZPA