The County Council has published its report into the accident that took place near Trumpington on 22 February. The bus crossed a maintenance track, and came to rest on the embankment on the western edge of the Busway corridor. The report is pretty damning, and it's clear that the driver was at fault - quite possibly negligent? Access to the report is on the County Council's website. It has been picked up by various media, including the BBC and Cambridge News.
Two things I noticed in passing: one is the reference in the report to something called the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway Operations Handbook. I'm guessing this is regarded as an "internal" document and not available for consultation by members of the public. The other is that Stagecoach refused to allow the County Council an archive copy of CCTV recordings from the bus involved in the accident, limiting access to the report's authors to a viewing onsite at the Fenstanton depot.
Showing posts with label dangerous driving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dangerous driving. Show all posts
Saturday, 19 March 2016
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
More on the bicycle accident
Today's Hunts Post (12 October, page 7) has three letters about the accident the Saturday before last - a bike was crunched up by a guided bus, which then had to be take out of service due to undercarriage damage.
One thing that puzzled me about the accident was why the driver had not slowed down and stopped. It seemed that the sightlines were good, and certainly the passenger writing to the paper last week seemed to be aware of the cyclist 'a good mile' in advance.
The first letter, from a Hartford resident, answers that question. The driver was indeed aware of the cyclist - because a bus coming the other way had warned her. So Stagecoach needs to answer the qeustion as to why she didn't stop. There are other negative comments about the driver's customer care - she didn't inform the passengers about what was going on, but stepped outside to smoke a cigarette.
The second letter (from a St Ives resident) suggests that this was an example of dangerous driving on the basis that it is our responsibility to avoid an accident even if the other person is in the wrong. He would expect a driver behaving like this on an normal road to be prosecuted. Is that happening with this bus driver?
The third letter (by a passenger from Hemingford Grey) remarks on the irony of a busway bus having to be diverted via the A14, the very road the busway was created to bypass.
On page 13 is a short article about the incident, including comments from passenger who lives in Needingworth, reiterating that the driver could have slowed down and stopped. Andy Campbell of Stagecoach says that 'action has been taken with regards to this driver'.
One thing that puzzled me about the accident was why the driver had not slowed down and stopped. It seemed that the sightlines were good, and certainly the passenger writing to the paper last week seemed to be aware of the cyclist 'a good mile' in advance.
The first letter, from a Hartford resident, answers that question. The driver was indeed aware of the cyclist - because a bus coming the other way had warned her. So Stagecoach needs to answer the qeustion as to why she didn't stop. There are other negative comments about the driver's customer care - she didn't inform the passengers about what was going on, but stepped outside to smoke a cigarette.
The second letter (from a St Ives resident) suggests that this was an example of dangerous driving on the basis that it is our responsibility to avoid an accident even if the other person is in the wrong. He would expect a driver behaving like this on an normal road to be prosecuted. Is that happening with this bus driver?
The third letter (by a passenger from Hemingford Grey) remarks on the irony of a busway bus having to be diverted via the A14, the very road the busway was created to bypass.
On page 13 is a short article about the incident, including comments from passenger who lives in Needingworth, reiterating that the driver could have slowed down and stopped. Andy Campbell of Stagecoach says that 'action has been taken with regards to this driver'.
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