James Scott
24 Jul 2025 · Coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp · Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton
This report repeats 2 earlier warnings, and was raised again 1 time later. See the linked reports.
The coroner's concerns
1. standing water on road
“The area is a known flood risk”
2. vegetation blockage in gullies
“Whilst the precise cause of the flooding is unknown, a more regular maintenance schedule may have prevented the buildup of vegetation within the gullies and therefore assisted in the drainage of the heavy rainfall experienced that day thus reducing the amount of surface water present on the road”
3. inadequate signage for flood risk
“The fact that only a Temporary Sign was in place in an area known for years to be a flood risk”
4. surface water contributing to collision
“The surface water was a contributory factor in this death”
Linked reports
Closely relatedConfidence 0.80 · moderate
Earlier report
“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.”
This report
“The area is a known flood risk”
Closely relatedConfidence 0.85 · high
Earlier report
“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;”
This report
“(2) Whilst the precise cause of the flooding is unknown, a more regular maintenance schedule may have prevented the buildup of vegetation within the gullies and therefore assisted in the drainage of the heavy rainfall experienced that day”
Closely relatedConfidence 0.85 · high
This report
“(2) Whilst the precise cause of the flooding is unknown, a more regular maintenance schedule may have prevented the buildup of vegetation within the gullies and therefore assisted in the drainage of the heavy rainfall experienced that day thus reducing the amount of surface water present on the road”
Later report
“The centralised location of these collisions suggests that there may be ongoing issues with drainage on this section of the road.”
Responses
2025-0374-Response-from-National-Highway-Agency.pdf ↗· National Highways
Stated action · 31 August 2024
“The first drainage flood risk site visit of financial year 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 was ordered on 23 April 2024 with a six-month window for completion. The work was completed on 31 August 2024.”