Traffic management planning was wholly inadequate on the day a road worker was struck and killed by a ute in northern Tasmania six years ago, a coroner finds.
Coroner Simon Cooper said apart from Mr Higgs's criminal inattention and speeding, a significant reason why Mr Close was killed was because he had no barrier between him and the first car approaching him.
"Numerous methods were identified to ensure that no road worker need ever to be the 'first line of defence'," Mr Cooper said. "I recommend that under no circumstances should any road worker be positioned on the road without a physical barrier between her or him and the first approaching vehicle." He said traffic management planning on the day by Altus Traffic was"wholly inadequate" and that a lack of proper planning contributed to Mr Close's death."Inadequate staff were provided for the task . No site-specific planning occurred at all. None of the workers associated with the task had the necessary qualification to enable site-specific planning to be carried out.
"The starkest example of the inadequacy of Altus's provision of traffic management was the fact that the traffic controller, Mr Close, found himself in a position where he was the 'first line of defence'."
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