Recurance · prevention of future deaths reports
Pre-inquest brief
Standing water on road leading to hydroplaning
The earlier warning
Kevin Hefferman · 25 Oct 2016 · Graham Danbury, Hertfordshire
“Police officers who attended the scene noticed, in addition to standing water on the carriageway, a flow of water across the westbound carriageway at or near the point where the BMW began to veer to the left.”
judiciary.uk/prevention-of-future-death-reports/kevin-hefferman
What was promised
Stated action 1 · response to Shahbaz Salim (22 Sept 2017) · stated timescale: June 2018
“The drainage scheme is progressing as planned through the design and development phases with an estimated start date on the A46 in February 2018. The work will take place over a period of approximately 20 weeks with a planned completion date of June 2018.”
Stated action 2 · response to Shahbaz Salim (22 Sept 2017) · stated timescale: none stated
“Highways England are in discussions with and his land agent ( Shouler & Son) regarding the removal of the access to the field which will allow us to install a continuous vehicle safety restraint barrier. Communication was made with during week commencing 25 September 2017 immediately following the inquest. As a result, discussions with began on the 4 October 2017 and continued on the 23 October 2017.”
Stated action 3 · response to Shahbaz Salim (22 Sept 2017) · stated timescale: none stated
“Highways England Land Team will detail the relevant value of the land access to allow continuing discussion with”
6 further stated actions are listed on the full chain page.
What recurred
- 22 Sept 2017 · Shahbaz Salim · Andrew McNamara
- 7 Dec 2022 · Josie Archer-Smith · James Dillon · Closely related · confidence 0.80 (moderate)
- 24 Jul 2025 · James Scott · Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp · Closely related · confidence 0.85 (high)
- 15 Jul 2026 · Cody Stock · Hassan Shah · Identical hazard · confidence 0.90 (high)
The clearest link, quoted from both reports:
Earlier · Shahbaz Salim · 22 Sept 2017
“The scene of the collision is in a natural 'bowl' and that, unless effectively drained, it is a point at which standing water will accumulate during and/or after heavy rainfall”
Later · Cody Stock · 15 Jul 2026
“The centralised location of these collisions suggests that there may be ongoing issues with drainage on this section of the road.”
What happened next
No web check of the stated actions has been published for this chain.