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Another coach crash!

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starrymarkb

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17497711

Saddened to hear this news.

This is the third serious coach crash this year which has involved loss of life. What is going on? On another forum I'm told that statistically coach travel is safer than train travel?! Is it really?

If the witness statement is anything to go by it appears that the coach has been rammed from behind by a truck...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
BBC now have a picture - It looks like a service bus, Alexander PS/B10M and it's def been rammed by the truck...
 

BestWestern

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One of the witness statements suggests that the bus was on the hard shoulder at the time of the crash, but judging by the lorry having hit the rear nearside it sounds more likely that it had come to a stop in lane 1 or 2. Not a place you'd want to be stuck with a load of passengers, very nasty indeed :(

Shame to see one of the remaining initial batch of B10M's come to such a nasty end too :|
 

anthony263

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Looks like it is an Alexander PS bodied Volvo B10m and does look to be in a advertising livery From the pictures it does looked to have been rammed by that truck pretty hard

Shame about it being one the initial batch of Volvo B10m's although it does seem to have stood up to the crash pretty well.

Very sad news about the loss of a persons life but it could have been a lot worse.
 

tbone

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One of the witness statements suggests that the bus was on the hard shoulder at the time of the crash, but judging by the lorry having hit the rear nearside it sounds more likely that it had come to a stop in lane 1 or 2. Not a place you'd want to be stuck with a load of passengers, very nasty indeed :(

Given the fog, it could have been that the lorry driver presumed that the bus was in lane 1 and was moving
 

pemma

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It appears the police said it was a coach so all the media are writing about a coach crash. I wonder if it's a bit like the X43 witch way service between Manchester and Nelson, that's a bus with almost coach style seats and runs on a motorway, that has caused the confusion.

Being a bus it wouldn't have had seat belts and the seats would have been less crash worthy.
 

mbonwick

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Being a bus it wouldn't have had seat belts and the seats would have been less crash worthy.

Coach style seats and lap belts were fitted - look at the picture of it at the SCNW Open day a few years ago (linked above)
 

Schnellzug

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This is the third serious coach crash this year which has involved loss of life. What is going on?
Given the number of buses & coaches on the road every day vis-a-vis trains, it would surely be statistically more likely that there'd be a very occasional accident.

"The coach involved in the crash carried a logo of the company Stagecoach, but a spokesman for the firm said it had been sold to a dealer 18 months ago."
Any idea who does own it now?
 

trentside

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Breaking news on the BBC is the the driver of the bus has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
 

mbonwick

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I really can't see what the bus driver has done wrong; the bus broke down, what more could he do?

Unless of course the bus could have been limped onto the hard shoulder...
 

David

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Breaking news on the BBC is the the driver of the bus has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

If the BBC reports are correct, then I don't know how the police are going to be able to prove this.

Recap for those who for whatever reason haven't read the BBC reports. The coach had broken down and was stuck in lane 1. It couldn't use the hard shoulder, as that was coned off for roadworks. The driver had also dialed 999 to report that the coach was stranded before the crash happened.

Everything else is open to speculation.
 

Schnellzug

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Why was the lorry going fast enough to obviously hit it with some force, if the bus had been stopped for some time, and on the nearside, furthermore? Didn't other following traffic manage to get past it? Or was the lorry the first vehicle behind it? did the bus stop so suddenly that the lorry driver had no chance to avoid it? Something sounds fishy here. But we'll never know, will we, since accident reports are never published for road accidents.
 

westcoaster

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If the BBC reports are correct, then I don't know how the police are going to be able to prove this.

Recap for those who for whatever reason haven't read the BBC reports. The coach had broken down and was stuck in lane 1. It couldn't use the hard shoulder, as that was coned off for roadworks. The driver had also dialed 999 to report that the coach was stranded before the crash happened.

Everything else is open to speculation.

Maybe he could of evacuated the bus, I certainly would not want to be a sitting duck in the fog.
 

ralphchadkirk

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Maybe he could of evacuated the bus, I certainly would not want to be a sitting duck in the fog.

Current advice is get out of your vehicle even if you're on the hard shoulder. If I was in a broken down coach stuck on Lane 1 then I wouldn't be hanging around on it.
 

anthony263

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Current advice is get out of your vehicle even if you're on the hard shoulder. If I was in a broken down coach stuck on Lane 1 then I wouldn't be hanging around on it.

Perhaps the driver did start to evacuate the passengers when the lorry hit there may have only been a minute or 2 betrween the bus breaking down and being struck by the lorry
 

ralphchadkirk

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Perhaps the driver did start to evacuate the passengers when the lorry hit there may have only been a minute or 2 betrween the bus breaking down and being struck by the lorry

True, we don't know what happened. And probably never will.
 

starrymarkb

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Perhaps the driver did start to evacuate the passengers when the lorry hit there may have only been a minute or 2 betrween the bus breaking down and being struck by the lorry

According to the Police/Highways Agency There was about 10 mins between the initial reports of it being stationary (Hard Shoulder Running due to works in Lane 3) and the 999 call of it being hit
 

starrymarkb

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Given the number of buses & coaches on the road every day vis-a-vis trains, it would surely be statistically more likely that there'd be a very occasional accident.

"The coach involved in the crash carried a logo of the company Stagecoach, but a spokesman for the firm said it had been sold to a dealer 18 months ago."
Any idea who does own it now?

Nope but usually when Stagecoach vehicles are advertised for sale it is stated that the new owner must repaint the vehicle out of Stagecoach colours and remove all logos. I suspect the dealer will be getting an earful from Stagecoach for not ensuring this was done..
 

Class172

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It was quite foggy in Droitwich this morning and the area around Frankley services is prone to fog often, caused by its location.
 

mbonwick

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Nope but usually when Stagecoach vehicles are advertised for sale it is stated that the new owner must repaint the vehicle out of Stagecoach colours and remove all logos. I suspect the dealer will be getting an earful from Stagecoach for not ensuring this was done..


Vehicle was not in Stagecoach colours per se, but in an all over vinyl wrap advertising Laurel and Hardy.
Only Stagecoach logos are above the door/ drivers cab and are impossible to remove without damaging the wrap, so would imagine Stagecoach will let it slide...


I've heard rumour that the driver was arrested as he;
Made no 999 call
Did not have either hazard nor fog lights on.

If that's true it is very worrying indeed.
 

richw

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BBC radio news stated driver was arrested for causing death by dangerous driving. Same news reporter stated the bus was transporting fruit pickers between farms.
Nope but usually when Stagecoach vehicles are advertised for sale it is stated that the new owner must repaint the vehicle out of Stagecoach colours and remove all logos. I suspect the dealer will be getting an earful from Stagecoach for not ensuring this was done

A local bus operator to myself has a fleet of ex stagecoach k reg double decker buses, still in stage coach livery but with their own logo over the top of stagecoach logo! as seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29197902@N06/6017387545/in/photostream/ not my photos, but from a link sent to me by a friend
 
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trentside

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A local bus operator to myself has a fleet of ex stagecoach k reg double decker buses, still in stage coach livery but with their own logo over the top of stagecoach logo! as seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29197902@N06/6017387545/in/photostream/ not my photos, but from a link sent to me by a friend

There is an operator is Scunthorpe with a similar fleet, which is surprising given that the main operator in Scunthorpe is Stagecoach.

There are a number of fruit farms who operate their own buses and hold O-Licences, I believe few have any incentive to repaint their vehicles - which are usually fairly elderly.
 

causton

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I know one local operator who recently bought 2 single-decker buses (looks like a similar body to the incident bus) which arrived with full Stagecoach logos on, then they were scrubbed off but fleet number + livery remained, then totally repainted after about a month, so maybe not quite a demand!

...A sad incident for all, very worrying if the driver didn't apply warning lights or evacuate the bus but also worrying if the hazard lights were on and the lorry driver didn't see it in time...
 

richw

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we dont have any stagecoach operations down here, so locals just see this operator as having all the same livery, probably most of them wont know it as stagecoach, but as Aquarius travel's livery.
 

IanXC

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I've heard rumour that the driver was arrested as he;
Made no 999 call
Did not have either hazard nor fog lights on.

If that's true it is very worrying indeed.

I think as a nation we've just forgotten what fog lamps are for. Wasn't exactly busy this morning on my way to work but at least 10 drivers didn't have their fog lights on, 5 had no lights on and 1 flashed his lights at me to turn my fog lights off *face palm*

 

mbonwick

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I should point out though, that depending on the fault, it may not have been possible to have the hazards/fog lamps on.

I have been on a sister bus (20774 - K774 DAO from memory) when it suffered a total electrical failure which resulted in it coming to a stand with no working lights or anything.
 

richw

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I should point out though, that depending on the fault, it may not have been possible to have the hazards/fog lamps on.

I have been on a sister bus (20774 - K774 DAO from memory) when it suffered a total electrical failure which resulted in it coming to a stand with no working lights or anything.

Alternator failed on my car on a busy dual carriageway a few years back, and i couldnt leave my lights or hazards on whilst awaiting on the hardshoulder for the AA, as i had no battery power.
I've had a function on my Vectra activated where the lights are on permanently when ignition is on, excellent function to me, like the Volvos of 20-30 years ago! I'm a big supporter of headlights being on all day, even if bright sunlight, as it improves visibility and i believe will reduce visibility.
 

mbonwick

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Daytime Running Lights are required by EU law on all new cars from Feb 2011 and HGVs/PCVs from August 2012.
 
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