AN OVERTAKING manoeuvre on a busy trunk road near York, in which two North Yorkshire men were killed, was doomed to failure, a coroner said.

Ripon men Jonathan Leary, 20, of High Skellgate, and Christopher Gott, 21, of Hillshaw Park Way, died when their Peugeot 309 collided head-on with a Ford Mondeo on the A59 York-Harrogate road.

At yesterday's inquest in Harrogate coroner Jeremy Cave said: "It could be said to be a direct result of the overtaking manoeuvre, when there was no time and distance to complete it."

The accident, on August 20, prompted calls from safety campaigners for nearby Whixley crossroads to be modified after a string of serious accidents.

Mr Gott was trying to overtake a Volvo car and a DAF Leyland lorry as he drove towards York on the 60 mph single carriageway road.

Both victims suffered multiple injuries in the collision and were certified dead at the scene. The Mondeo driver, Anthony Watt, suffered fractures.

Accident investigator Tc Stuart Holden said the Peugeot was travelling at an estimated 73 mph. A mechanical fault would have affected the rear off-side brake, particularly when applied heavily.

There was no evidence the victims were wearing seat belts, he said.

The inquest verdict of accidental death for both men came as a Harrogate borough councillor accused North Yorkshire County Council of delaying improvement work at Whixley crossroads.

Coun Chris Lewis claimed no information had been gathered about the traffic-calming effect of speed cameras on the A59, and that speed cameras were not working.

She said: "Is it right that the county council constantly defers a decision to do something to make safe this dangerous crossroads in order to gather information from speed cameras ... they know ... are not operating?"

Three more people had died since traffic monitoring began two years ago, she said.

But North Yorkshire County Council said its road safety officers used their own electronic equipment to monitor traffic.

Data collected over several days showed speeds had been reduced by an average of six miles an hour, a spokesman said.

A further report on traffic monitoring would be made to county councillors in March.

The estimated cost of building a roundabout at Whixley crossroads is £320,000.

North Yorkshire Police said traffic officers had a wide array of equipment to measure traffic speed.

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