A hazardous road junction needs remodelling and Police Landcruiser vehicles should have reflective markings and louder sirens, an inquest heard yesterday.

Crown counsel Auralee Cassidy said 21-year-old motorcyclist Michael Scott Kozma might not have died in a night-time collision with one of the blue trucks, if it had been easier to see and hear.

"It was a dark vehicle on a dark night at a limited visibility junction," she observed.

There were no skid marks on the road in the middle of the junction of Cedar Avenue and Dundonald Street where Mr. Kozma came into collision with the truck around 10.30 p.m. April 29, 2005. That suggests neither driver saw each other, she said.

The purpose of the inquest, being held by Coroner Juan Wolffe is to establish the cause and circumstances of the death rather than to apportion blame. However, if he accepts the recommendations made by Ms Cassidy yesterday, they will be passed on to the Police and the Corporation of Hamilton.

Some witnesses have told the inquest they did not hear the Landcruiser using its sirens as it approached the junction travelling towards a reported fight at the bus station in Victoria Street.

The blue lights were on but there has been conflicting evidence as to whether the truck ran a red light before the collision or not.

Accident scene investigator P.c Stephen Paynter has given his conclusions that Mr. Kozma ran a red light as he travelled east down Dundonald Street. P.c Paynter estimated that Mr. Kozma was speeding at 72 kph when he hit the truck.

Yesterday, Ms Cassidy described the junction as a "high traffic incident zone". She told the inquest that a ride in the truck during a site visit indicated that Landcruisers have sirens low and dull in tone compared to those on regular Police cars.

She suggested to the Coroner that the sirens should be reconsidered and in addition perhaps the lights on the trucks could be "brighter or more noticeable".

She said it had been difficult to see oncoming vehicles from the truck during the ride because of the layout of the junction, which is not straight. This raised concern that drivers heading into the intersection can't see what's coming until they are moving across it.

Ms Cassidy pointed out that there was an accident at the same junction days after the Coroner's court visited the scene. This newspaper reported at the time that a man riding a cycle was involved in a collision with a Police patrol car early on the morning of September 20. The rider of the cycle, a 33-year-old Paget man, injured his right shoulder and suffered abrasions.

"The redesigning of that intersection is something that should definitely be looked into," Ms Cassidy told the inquest.

"One way, perhaps, limited visibility could be brought to drivers' attention is perhaps signs or a lower speed limit."

In addition, she suggested that reflective stripes on the sides of the dark-coloured vehicles would help people see them in the dark. Such stripes on Police cars have, she said, helped reduce accidents.

One eyewitness told the inquest that Mr. Kozma was travelling so fast prior to the collision that his bike became airborne as he travelled over a speedbump by Mount St. Agnes school.

Ms Cassidy told the inquest the bump appeared to be too short and shallow to reduce the speed of traffic approaching the junction and perhaps it should be increased in size.

Police witnesses referred to the first-aid kit on board the Landcruiser as being inadequate to treat the serious injuries Mr. Kozma sustained, and therefore this could be re-assessed.

Mr. Wolffe quizzed Ms Cassidy: "Which of your recommendations, if in place, do you think would have prevented his death?"

She replied: "The Landcruiser, which is a dark blue colour, is always difficult to see. If it had a reflective stripe on it, perhaps Mr. Kozma could have taken evasive action."

Lawyer Edward Bailey, who represents the Kozma family, said he did not accept that the spot was any more hazardous than other places on Bermuda's road network.

He asked the Coroner to consider whether or not the Police driver had failed in his duty of care by not taking all the safety precautions he could that night. Mr. Bailey has previously called the speed and positioning of the truck at the time of the accident into question.

"The drivers should employ all emergency devices out of an abundance of caution," he stressed yesterday, referring to evidence from one eyewitness who claimed he'd seen the Landcruiser "gun it" into the junction.

Describing the question of whether the driver ran a red light or not as the "burning issue" he said, if he did, "the Police officer certainly took a chance. We know he was going to an emergency but no one has said that the emergency was life threatening to justify them running a red light."

Mr. Wolffe is set to deliver his ruling on November 25.