Working for change » Post-crash response » Effective inquests
Effective inquests
The problem
- The Coroner’s Court is the only court that most families bereaved by road crashes will ever see, but it is not a national system, and the sensitivity and skills of coroners vary widely.
- Road deaths are still treated as accidents with most common verdict in a road death being ‘accidental death’.
- Despite road deaths being one of the most common types of inquests, there is no monitoring of road death inquests. They are not a priority for coroners.
- Disclosure is often a problem with many coroners refusing to allow families to see the collision investigation report before the inquest.
- Families are often left feeling that the inquest was summary, if not superficial, and blamed the victim, and failed to identify how to prevent future deaths.
- Coroners can make reports about preventing future deaths but they do not receive any specialised training in road traffic injury prevention, and have no powers to demand changes.
- The long awaited Coroner and Justice Reform Act does not deliver a national system and reforms such as the right of appeal and Charter for the Bereaved will not be implemented until 2012.
What RoadPeace wants
- A specific Traffic death verdict so that information on road death inquests can be collated and greater priority assigned to them.
- Improved standards of road death inquests which would require better training and monitoring, and would explain the full circumstances of the death.
- Inquests to make a difference with coroners working closer with the police and transport authorities to reduce future road deaths.
- Better treatment of bereaved families. As people who have suffered a traumatic and violent sudden death, they deserve to be treated with respect and sympathy.
- Inquest transcripts provided freely to bereaved families or, at most, at copying cost.
What RoadPeace is doing about it
- Produces guide to inquest and road deaths so that bereaved families can be better informed of the procedures and their rights.
- Collects information from our members and helpline callers on inquests.
- Represents road crash victims on the Ministry of Justice Coroner Reform stakeholders working group.
- Campaigns for traffic verdict and specialised training for coroners investigating road deaths.
