No duty to paint warnings on road

Gorringe v Calderdale MBC (CA TLR 16 May, LSG 30 May p36)

The claimant was driving along a B road when she collided with a bus on the crest of a hill suffering severe injuries. The bus driver was not at fault. The claimant brought an action against the highway authority under s41 of the Highways Act 1980 for failing to replace an obliterated ‘slow’ marking painted on the road and in negligence under s39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 for breach of their duty to promote road safety and its parallel common law duty. She succeeded before the trial judge but failed in the Court of Appeal by a majority, which held that a highway authority has no duty to paint warning markings under s41 of the 1980 Act while its duty to promote road safety under s39 of the 1988 Act was chiefly concerned with preventing or reducing accidents and gave rise to a parallel common law duty of care only where on the evidence, before the accident, the site should have been regarded as an accident blackspot and the authority had irrationally failed to take appropriate measures to prevent accidents at that site.