A CORONER has urged highway bosses to make safety improvements on a north Dorset road after a biker was killed in a crash with a car during icy conditions.

Richard Phillips, aged 35, was knocked off his motorcycle on the B3091 when the driver of a car coming in the opposite direction lost control and skidded across ice on the road.

Mr Phillips, from Sturminster Newton, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on December 19, 2017. An inquest, which concluded in May, found he died of multiple injuries after being knocked off his bike "with force."

A report to prevent future deaths, written after the inquest, said Mr Phillips had been positioned correctly in the road and was wearing a helmet and appropriate clothing when the crash happened.

Assistant coroner for Dorset, Richard Middleton, said the car had been heading downhill towards Mr Phillips in an area known as St James’ Common, near Shaftesbury.

Drivers had “regularly reported” the existence of standing water in the area in the months prior to the accident, and the inquest heard that officers who attended the scene said it was difficult to remain upright when walking over the frozen stretch of road.

A collision investigation officer raised concern over the poor drainage of surface water in the area of the crash, Mr Middleton said.

Despite there being four drains within 150 metres of the crash scene, two of them were “redundant” and bypassed any flowing water due to the camber of the road, with one “largely obscured and overgrown by grass” at the time of the crash.

Concerns were also raised over the maintenance of the road and its verges.

Mr Middleton said the positioning of the drains along the road was “questionable,” and urged highways staff at Dorset Council to take urgent to prevent future deaths.

The report to sent to the highways department, and published on Monday, July 29, said: “Dorset Police reported there had been two road traffic collisions reported at this location in January 2015 (i.e. a similar time of year to this incident).

“In my opinion, urgent action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you and/or your organisation have the power to take such action.”