Road Traffic Collisions (RTCs)

Here we have information and support for people affected by RTCs.

For the serious and fatal collisions, the impact on victims, their families/friends and others involved, is life changing. There are often many practical, procedural and emotional challenges to overcome. There is advice and support available to help people cope.

As a Safer Roads Partnership, we will:

• Learn from crash investigations, then share and act upon the findings.
• Raise awareness of support services for victims and others that are affected.
• Advocate for justice for victims of RTCs where there is a crime or blame.

Learning from collision investigation

This includes finding out how changing behaviour can help drivers and riders drive more safely on the roads.

Fatal crashes trigger investigations by bodies such as, the Police, the Coroner and the Council. These overlap, which may seem confusing, but their purposes differ:

• The Police, Crown Prosecution Service and criminal courts identify and punish wrongdoing and deter others from committing offences.
• Coroners help families to understand what happened and highlight lessons to be learned.
• Safeguarding professionals consider how the crash affects other people, such as siblings.

West Yorkshire Police and Major Collision Enquiry Team (MCET)

WYP are responsible for investigating collisions. The UK has investigation branches for rail, aviation and maritime casualties. There is, however, no equivalent for roads, even though they account for many more injuries and deaths. Brake, a road safety charity, calls for a Road Collision Investigation Branch to be established to:

• recommend effective measures to stop deaths and injuries;
• support the police to pursue excellence in their crash investigations;
• develop standards and expertise in collision investigation, data recording and analysis.

For potential fatal and fatal RTCs, the MCET will conduct the investigation. They will prepare the evidence needed for any criminal investigation. They investigate the cause of the collision, gather evidence and present the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The CPS will then decide whether to prosecute through the criminal courts. The offence of 'causing death by dangerous driving' is a crime equivalent in law to manslaughter.

Family Liaison Officers

When there is a sudden or unexpected death, a uniformed police officer will normally inform the family/next of kin. They will then arrange for early contact with a 'Family Liaison Officer'. These specially trained officers volunteer for this very important role. They can be involved with a family for months or years. The contribution they can make to post-collision care cannot be overstated. Officers can refer people to the National Road Victims Service provided by 'Brake' for further support.

Calderdale Council

We work with the MCET to identify and fix highway defects that may have contributed to major collisions. We will review our approach to this area of post-collision investigation and work with the police to:

• identify behaviours and other factors that may have contributed to the crash;
• and use this insight to recommend other actions that could help to prevent future tragedies.

The Coroners

These have a statutory duty to investigate all violent or unnatural deaths and conduct inquests into all road traffic deaths. They rely on evidence from the police and other emergency services. So, it is normal that they open and adjourn inquests while they wait for the outcome of criminal prosecutions.

Their inquest is to establish 'how the deceased came by his/her death' and not about blame or compensation. It will establish these issues on the 'balance of probability', not by the more stringent standards of criminal courts. Significantly, the bereaved family is at the centre of an inquest. Members of the family have a legal right to see documents and question witnesses, either themselves or through legal representatives.

A subsidiary role for the inquest is to extract lessons. If a coroner is concerned that another death may occur in similar circumstances:

• A Prevention of Future Deaths Report (PFD), also known as a ‘Regulation 28 report) can be made.
• This will go to any organisation or person that has the power to take remedial action.

They cannot compel anyone to act, but rather draws attention to a situation that causes concern. PFD reports may relate to matters such as road design, lighting or signage or features relating to the vehicles involved.

Child Death Overview Panel

If a child under 18, does not survive a RTC, the Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood (SUDIC) process is started. This is to identify any immediate learning and support for the family. A police Family Liaison Officer and SUDIC paediatricians will often visit parents at home together. This is to answer questions and give information about further support. Schools across Calderdale can also help siblings and request further specialist support if needed.

The outcome of this is then presented to the Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) along with other Multi-Agency information. This is a panel of key professionals from the local authority and other organisations. It includes the West Yorkshire ICB, West Yorkshire Police, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, Social Care, Public Health.

The panel will use all the other information available and any other relevant information it has asked for, to:

• Establish what happened in the lead up to the fatality.
• Identify any local patterns or trends.
• Work out what can be learned to prevent further deaths.
• Identify appropriate actions, interventions or recommendations.
• Make sure that families are properly supported.

Road traffic incident support organisations

Bereavement and emotional support

• Brake. A road safety charity who work with communities and organisations across the UK to
  • stop road deaths and injuries;
  • make streets and communities safer;
  • and support people bereaved and seriously injured on roads.
• Victim Support. A national charity dedicated to helping anyone affected by crime to cope with and recover from their experience. If it doesn't have an office in your area, it can point you to local help. It also runs My Support Space. A free, safe, secure and confidential space where you can choose how you want to be supported.
• SCARD. A West Yorkshire charity, offering support and care after road death and injury. It has an online memorial page and holds a service of remembrance every year in November.
• Naomi Cheri Gough Foundation. This is a West Yorkshire charity. It helps parents/carers of children who lose their life West Yorkshire roads due to a road traffic incident.
• DayOne. A charity offering help to anyone in West Yorkshire affected by major physical trauma.
• RoadPeace. For road crash victims. Provides support to those bereaved by or injured in a road crash.
• Age UK. The UK's largest charity working with and for older people.
• Child Death Helpline. For anyone affected by the death of a child of any age, from pre-birth to adult. Under any circumstances, however recently or long ago.
• Cruse Bereavement Care. Provides bereavement support, including for those experiencing loneliness.
• Turning Point Talking Therapies. Free, quick and easy access to a range of psychological therapies.
• The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. Workplace support for those affected by RTCs.

Navigating the justice system

This can be confusing and traumatic. (Bereaved families may, for example, struggle to understand why a fatal crash may not necessarily be a recordable crime.)

Voluntary support organisations fill this gap and help victims by providing information on the justice system, such as:

• Post-collision procedures with police and the coroner.
• Victims’ rights (as set out in the Victims’ Code, 11.4.5).
• Help with victim impact statements.
• Coroners Court or Criminal Court attendances.
• Help to seek compensation for post-traumatic stress, loss of income and hardship.

Victims' code

Victims and close relatives are entitled to a number of protections and rights under the ‘Victims’ Code’.

This is the right to be provided with information and support services. This applies to the NHS and the police, for example.

Support with legal processes

• What to do when someone dies. Government advice about the legal and financial process.
• Register a death. Calderdale Council.
• The Coroner’s Court Support Service. A national service providing emotional support and practical help to bereaved families, witnesses and others attending an inquest at a Coroner’s Court.
• Crime Prosecution Service. A national service providing information for victims and witnesses.
• Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS). The national association of motor accident solicitors who represent victims of road crashes.
• Motor Insurers' Bureau. A government organisation that helps to compensate the victims of uninsured and untraced motorists.
• Law Society. Helps to find a solicitor in the UK.