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Vernon Street, Bolton (credit: Google Maps)11-year-old boy died cycling home after bus driver "beeped and startled him" before collision — but coroner concludes driving in line with Highway Code
A coroner concluded that a bus driver was "overtaking in a manner within the Highway Code" and an 11-year-old boy cycling home died in a collision when they "without warning, veered to the right", that after the inquest had heard from a witness who suggested the child was startled by the driver beeping his horn which caused them to lose control.
The events leading to Lucas Ashton's death were the subject of an inquest at Bolton Coroners' Court last week. The 11-year-old boy was cycling home along Vernon Street in Bolton when he was hit by the driver of a bus on 30 December 2022, the Bolton News reported from the inquest.
CCTV clips were played, one from the bus and another from a care home, footage showing the driver of the bus turn onto Vernon Street where Lucas was riding his bike on the left-hand side of the left-hand lane. As the driver overtook he beeped his horn before Lucas turned right sharply and a collision occurred.
A senior paramedic with the North West Ambulance Service, who was the first member of the emergency services to arrive at the scene "shortly after 1pm" said she "immediately recognised" that it "would not be possible to save Lucas", the coroner subsequently confirming the cause of death was a "traumatic head injury suffered in a road traffic collision".
Coroner Peter Sigee concluded the driver was "overtaking in a manner within the Highway Code" but "Lucas suddenly, and without warning, veered to the right so that a collision occurred".
However, the events around the collision were subject to conflicting accounts, the inquest hearing from PC Martin Davies, a forensic collision reconstruction officer who investigated the scene and footage, who told the court there was "no evidence to support that it was a loss of control" from Lucas that caused him to turn into the driver's path.
"In this particular case, I was able to establish that if the bike carried on in a straight line it wouldn't have happened," the police officer said. "In regards to why or how Lucas turned the bike, I wasn't able to establish why. There's no evidence to support that it was a loss of control. There was no reaction from Lucas and no indication that Lucas had heard the horn before it happened."
The police officer also claimed the driver's exact speed "wouldn't have much of a difference" after establishing that the bus was being driven at a speed between 20 and 24mph along the 20mph route when the collision occurred.
However, one passenger on the bus at the time of the collision, Victoria Lester, who was sitting "right behind the bus doors" reported Lucas's riding was "absolutely fine" and recalled seeing the 11-year-old "jumping at the sound of the horn" before he "seemed to be losing control".
Ms Lester reported that the driver was extremely upset following the collision, saying "what the f*** have I done?" before she told him there was "nothing you could have done".
A second passenger, David Spencer, told the inquest he was "happy with the driver's skills" and "felt safe as a passenger" as the vehicle was "being very careful driving into Vernon Street".
A vehicle examiner deemed that the bus was in working order and would have passed an MOT at the time of the collision.
The coroner read a statement from Lucas's mum, Sarah Heaton, who said "people flocked to" her son and that his sense of humour was "so lovely to be around".
On 30 December, the family had visited Lucas's grandad, Lucas travelling by bike and on the way home he had gone ahead.
Coroner Sigee said: "You gave him the keys to the house, said you loved him and went on, expecting to see him at home.
"You said you feel empty, your whole world seems empty, and you tell me about the things you miss. The quietness in the house is the worst, you miss the chaos he brought, and his giggles were missing – he had the best laugh, it was contagious. He's left a gap in the lives of everyone who loved him."
The coroner concluded that the collision occurred when Lucas "suddenly, and without warning, veered to the right" and that the driver had been "overtaking in a manner within the Highway Code".
"I recognise how distressing a situation like this is for everyone involved," he told the inquest. "While the grief of the family exceeds that of everyone else, I recognise the impact this would have on the bus driver as well. Lucas was unseated from his bicycle and he suffered an unsurvivable injury. Before I close this inquest, may I reiterate my condolences to everyone involved."
Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.
Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.
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59 comments
Driver beeped horn at a cyclist and they caused the death of lad on bike, simple. In fact it was well known driving instructor Ashley Neal (YouTube) who done exactly the same and videoed it and defended the action to 'i was letting the cyclists know I was there' - beeping of a horn was questionable when i 1st learnt of the action many years back and still is!
Yet again the driver gets away with causing a death
As per usual police don't care, they're blaming the child ....how have we gone backwards in standards either way this bus driver should be delt with he wouldn't have done if it was a pensioner on their mobility scooter! So Bee buses need to be held accountable! Last time I checked beeping your horn at a more vulnerable road user counts as intimidation....as far as I'm concerned GMP and it's sister forces have turned into the SS!
No they haven't.
Beg to differ
Begging denied. It's nonsense.
Do you reckon that one deserves a cry of "Godwin"?
Well, let's see - they both like wearing black, they have "powers", er...
Bus driver here.
Based on my experience, there are two types of bus drivers (slight simplification)
1. The ones that have none or hardly any collisions (regardless of their liability)
2. The ones that do but they usually get away with it because "they followed the highway code" "they were following the speed limit" "they had priority/green" "they just weren't able to see someone",etc.
The standards to which commercial drivers are held to, are not high enough. What also doesn't help is the fact that the driver training process doesn't put strong enough emphasis on advanced/defensive elements of the craft. Once you get a cat D, there isn't much in a way of developing your skills other than learning "on the job".
Which type are you?
A very sad story and why, regardless of what the Highway Code says, never use a standard horn in close proximity to other road users.
I've been toying with the idea of putting one of these in my van so that if I see cyclists up ahead on a country road , I can press a button 100m behind and let them know I'm there without the angry sounding beep.
https://www.fiammhorns.com/12v-vehicles-without-air-supply/Fiamm-Tour-Ho...
The highway code doesn't say "If you are approaching a cyclist from behind sound your horn".
You don't need to do anything other than approach with caution. Unless the cyclist is hearing impaired they will hear either the roar of your engine, the roar of your tyres on the road or both. If they don't hear it in time you are driving way too fast.
Sounding a horn means there must be some additional peril. A vehicle approaching from behind should not be perilous in itself.
The problem with horns nowadays is they are all too often used to mean "Get out of my way" or "I don't like what you just did". Neither is a legal use of the horn.
No, but it does in fact say "Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence."
So, unless you're actually there in person, how about you just let me decide when to use it and when not to, instead of making theoretical judgements on hypothetical scenarios?
Except that the kind of horn you are proposing to fit is illegal to use so who knows what other laws you are planning to break with your use of your horn?
Drivers are not allowed to use their horn in built-up areas between the hours of 11pm and 7am, in stationary traffic, to get the attention of other road users or used in frustration, or repeatedly.
In the UK, while you can technically adapt or replace your car horn, you are not allowed to fit a bell, gong, siren, or two-tone horn according to The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. The regulations state that no motor vehicle shall be fitted with a bell, gong, siren, or two-tone horn. The horn must produce a continuous and uniform sound, and it cannot be harsh or grating.
"except when another road user poses a danger."
Ah, but Mark1a is proposing a three-tone.
I'm ambivalent about using the horn. Most of the time it isn't warranted, but as long as it isn't used as an "I'm coming through regardless, move" I don't mind - that's how I use a bell. I can think of one truly shocking (reported) pass on a country lane where I would have been happy to let them through if I'd had an advance warning beep, but was totally oblivious to their approach (wind noise) until they were alongside me.
It would have a separate switch and would not be replacing the standard horn, which will remain in place of course.
I haven't decided yet, but when I have, I'll be sure to come back here and let you know.
The bus driver was exceeding the speed limit. A boy was killed. They say "speed kills" - except when it's a cyclist death, when it "made no difference", apparently.
Hmmm. You're willing to accept that the collision forensics officer has enough experience to determine the bus *may* have been speeding but simulataneously disregard his opinion that the use of the horn had no impact on the collision.
Double standards or just seeing what you want to see?
Perhaps it was that the speed was measurable, and measured (tachograph, onboard data-logger, the CCTV evidence) and thus an objective fact the collision forensics officer could not do anything but report as such. Whereas the finding of whether the sounding of the horn affected the collision or not had enough room for interpretation that the officer could apply their biases to exonerate the poor innocent *speeding* bus driver?
Isn't the issue that speed limits are not seen as "never exceed" limits but apparently "speed you should be going normally". Hence for fairness we have to have an allowance above that. Which ... drivers may misinterpret as well (e.g. "I should be fine doing 24mph in a 20mph limit!"). And I think that understanding does in fact feed back into the police / judicial system.
That is leaving aside that of course the limit should sometimes be moot as conditions will determine the safe speed to drive. Doesn't matter what number is on the sign if you can't see clearly ahead (sun), grip on the road is reduced or ... the street is full of children!
So whatever happened to the old idea of slowing down, giving a lot of space, and being prepared to stop if necessary when encountering a child pedaling a bike down the road? These sorts of collisions are not "accidents.'' They are the results of human errors. It's possible the child errored here, but shouldn't the adult be expected to be prepared for that?
That idea has gone out of the window. The new idea is that if you see a cyclist you honk your horn and watch what happens. It ended very badly in this case in multiple ways. Condolences to the family.
I have been nearly hit by buses over taking numerous times in various areas ie different bus companies . A motorists first reaction is to lie there heads off and blame someone else and they often carry on with the lies even when witnesses and cctv say different. Bus drivers at work have killed numerous children but somehow it's never their fault.
And yet the coroner reviewed 2 seperate pieces of CCTV footage and *still* determined it wasnt the drivers fault.
Occams razor suggests that rather than it being a conspiracy to protect the bus driver...maybe...just maybe... the driver did nothing wrong.
They weren’t able to conclude beyond all doubt that the driver was at fault from (probably silent) CCTV, but a witness (a front-seat passenger with probably a better view than either of those sources of CCTV) was happy to testify that the boy was riding perfectly happily in a straight line until the totally unnecessary horn blast scared him into losing control.
Forgive me for maintaining a healthy scepticism of a system that has been consistently lenient as fuck towards dangerous drivers for the entirety of living memory.
Simple question, the coroner states that the driver was driving in accordance with the Highway Code. The Highway Code states that you are not to use your horn unless it's to give a warning. If Lucas was riding in a manner which required a warning, why did the driver not slow down and stay behind him instead of sounding his horn and proceeding? If he was not riding in a manner which required a warning, why did the driver sound his horn at all? Oh and one other simple question, how is driving at a speed between the speed limit and 4 mph over the speed limit in accordance with the Highway Code?
Good question. The coroner appears, from the report, to have made no reference to the use of the horn at all.
"The police officer also claimed the driver's exact speed "wouldn't have much of a difference" after establishing that the bus was being driven at a speed between 20 and 24mph along the 20mph route when the collision occurred."
So the police have found that the driver was going over the speed limit when overtaking and using the horn.
If the driver felt the only way to overtake was to exceed the speed limit then isn't that by definition dangerous driving as it is not careless to speed?
If the driver had instead sensibly stayed behind (not gotten too close) and not used the horn then this whole tragic incident could have been avoided.
But no.
Must. Overtake. Cyclist.
My question to the police and coroner is why wasn't the driver prosecuted for causing death by careless or dangerous driving?
I can only hope that the driver sees the child's face everytime he interacts with any family members of the same age.
Nope. The police didnt say that. Read it again. It says
"establishing that the bus was being driven at a speed between 20 and 24mph along the 20mph route when the collision occurred".
ie they cant rule out that the driver wasnt within the limit.
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