Council facing legal threat after biker dies on “degraded road surface”

A widow has launched a High Court legal challenge against North Northamptonshire Council after her husband died while riding a motorbike on a "degraded road surface".
Mrs Newcombe's husband died after crashing his motorbike on the A43 in Northamptonshire in September 2022.

According to a coroner's report, he was riding in a large group of motorcyclists and crashed while overtaking another vehicle.

"As he began this manoeuvre, his motorcycle travelled across a section of degraded road surface which caused Mr Newcombe to lose control of his vehicle", the report said.

It continued: "Despite attempted corrective action he was unable to stabilise the bike and became separated from it, sliding forwards and striking the kerb stones of a traffic island."
Mrs Newcombe's claim alleges the council failed to heed numerous previous reports from members of the public about the poor state of the road, according to a report from Derbyshire Live.

A police crash investigator described the road as "heavily disrupted, uneven and undulating" in a report on the incident.

Derbyshire Live reported that North Northamptonshire Council meanwhile claimed the accident was due to the man's negligence in failing to take reasonable care for his safety.

It claimed he attempted to overtake on approaching a junction on his offside; failed to wait for a safe and suitable opportunity to overtake; rode at an unsafe and/or unsuitable speed; did not ride in such a way as to retain control of his machine; and failed to take action to avoid "any alleged undulating part of the carriageway".

Ken Brough, personal injury lawyer at Hodge Jones & Allen is representing Newcombe.

A council spokesperson: "Any death on the road is a sad and tragic event, and we offer our condolences to the family and friends of Mr Newcombe.

"As this relates to ongoing legal proceedings, we do not feel that it would be appropriate to say anything further at this stage."

Adam Carey