The fatal crash occurred on the Barton Highway on 15 September 2021. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
The death of a man, killed by a truck driver, has resulted in a coroner urging the ACT Government to look into a new technology that aims to prevent crashes by detecting vehicles about to run a red traffic light.
On 15 September 2021, Alistair Colin Forbes Urquhart was driving a car when a truck that was towing an excavator drove through a red light and crashed into him and another vehicle on the Barton Highway.
The 45-year-old died at the scene, while the driver of the other vehicle suffered serious injuries.
The truck driver, Jake Barrett, pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death and grievous bodily harm before the then-29-year-old was sentenced to four years’ jail, suspended after 20 months.
“An innocent person waiting at the lights has died and another innocent person has had his life permanently changed,” Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson told him when sending him to jail in 2023.
“You must serve your debt to the community, Mr Barrett.”
Coroner Ken Archer then published his findings for the inquest into Mr Urquhart’s death this week.
It ends with a recommendation that Attorney-General Tara Cheyne invite the relevant agencies responsible for the ACT’s road safety to consider the outcomes of a trial of a new technology called ‘Hold the Red’.
The coroner said this technology, which has been trialled in Queensland, is a collision-prevention system that uses radar to detect vehicles about to run red lights.
In 2023, Queensland’s Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Mark Bailey, said the technology reduced the risk of red light runners colliding with other vehicles by 33 per cent.
Jake Barrett received a four-year prison sentence, to be suspended after 20 months, for causing the fatal Barton Highway crash. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
According to the Queensland Government, this system uses a radar to track each vehicle approaching an intersection up to 150 metres from the stop line.
When the radar predicts a motorist is about to run a red light, the opposing red lights are extended, which reduces the chance of another vehicle entering the intersection at the same time as the offending vehicle.
Coroner Archer said when it came to the fatal crash on the Barton Highway, Mr Barrett drove through a red light when Mr Urquhart and the other vehicle were turning right through a green light.
“It is not clear whether this technology would have made a difference in respect of this accident,” Coroner Archer said.
“Much will depend on the calibration and sensitivity of the installed device.”
The coroner said Mr Urquhart was completely without fault in the collision.
“The inquest into Alistair’s death has taken too long to conclude,” he said.
“I apologise to the family for the delay, and I extend to them my sincere condolences.”
Ms Cheyne was asked if she would be acting on Coroner Archer’s recommendation.
“Once formally received, the ACT Government will consider and respond to the recommendations in the coroner’s report within the legislated timeframes,” an ACT Government spokesperson replied.
My old house also built in the same era, also had the stormwater going to a gravel pit. View