A fatal bus crash dating back to October 2015 which took place in Coventry city centre may push authorities into making a decision as to whether fleet telematics should become compulsory, at least for public service fleets and HGVs, according to the legal firm Stephenson’s.
Last month, the Birmingham Crown Court established that dangerous driving was the factual cause of the fatal collision which involved a bus from the company Midland Red South, a subsidiary of Stagecoach, which crashed into a local Sainsbury supermarket. From the investigations carried out, it seems the driver mistook his accelerator for the brake, initiating the collision which resulted in the death of a passenger who was travelling on the upper deck and a pedestrian.
According to a reconstruction of the event, it turned out that the driver in question had been warned on multiple occasions by the same companies via letters highlighting his risky behaviour and poor driving; and this was down to the fact that all buses were fitted with telematics equipment and could therefore disclose this kind of information. A total of eight warning letters had been sent to the driver, but no further action was taken by his company. It has been revealed that the same driver had already been involved in four other incidents during the period 2011 to 2014.
Apparently, he had retired at the age of 65 but was again hired by the company as a casual driver at the age of 77. Furthermore, it is alleged that the driver, Kailash Chander, had been working for a total of 75 hours per week in the three weeks leading up the fatal crash; something that is actually legal according to GB Domestic Rules, but probably not appropriate for a person of his age. Chander was also diagnosed with dementia at an early stage after the crash.
As the driver was judged mentally unfit to attend the trial, Stagecoach pleaded guilty to the charge relating to the Health and Safety at Work Act in September 2017 and will be sentenced on November 26th. According to public opinion, it is incredible that Stagecoach continued to allow this particular driver to work despite his age and the stark fact that his unsafe driving practices were detected by the telematics system. In this particular case, the operator has been prosecuted for not maintaining safety despite the tracking system revealing driver behaviour issues.
This might be an example of how telematics itself definitely helps with the implementation of a risk assessment program, but it is completely pointless if companies do not act fully upon the data they receive from vehicles and act before it is too late. Operators should use data in a proactive way, especially when they are repeatedly informed of a driver who is particularly at risk, as was the case in this instance. Traffic commissioners and transport organisations still do not consider telematics a compulsory feature of fleet operation, but similar accidents in the future may actually prompt governments to make it so.
