Small Errors By Drivers Can Cost Lives

A bus driver is a highly trained employee. The same applies to most professional drivers, and this case study applies (in terms of risk) across the board to drivers, train or vessel operators, or indeed any driver of a large vehicle.

In broad daylight but on a rainy day a bus was proceeding normally along a bus route in a city. Traffic was fairly light but pedestrian traffic was quite busy. The bus approached a pedestrian crossing where a number of pedestrians crossed routinely against red lights (for pedestrians) when there were gaps in the traffic. The speed limit was 20 mph, and unbeknown to the driver, he was travelling at 22 mph, only just above the speed limit. He had not checked his speed, nor adjusted it to account for the number of pedestrians.

As he approached, there were no apparent hazards until suddenly a pedestrian ran out into the path of the bus. The driver applied his brakes, swerved and blew his horn but couldn’t avoid hitting the pedestrian, who was thrown forward onto the road. Tragically, the speed and momentum of the bus caused it to continue forward, and it drove over the pedestrian, crushing her and killing her immediately.

The police took no action against the driver, despite the slight excessive speed. A civil claim for compensation was however made by the widower of the deceased . She was quite a highly paid person, and the claim amounted to £1.5m.

Although initial analysis of the cctv evidence suggested that the driver could probably have done nothing to avoid hitting the pedestrian, accident reconstruction experts revealed that:

At 20 mph the bus may have stopped without hitting the pedestrian or at least hit her at a lower speed so she would not have been run over.

Although the driver reacted very quickly in applying the brake, for reasons which he could not later explain, he did not apply heavy braking and released the brake before ethe collision. If he had braked harder, or continued to apply the brake, he would have avoided the collision.

There were clear issue surrounding the pedestrian’s carelessness also, and at a settlement meeting the case was settled for £575,000 plus legal costs, representing 50-60% of the likely full liability value of the claim.

The bus company, a large entity, had an insurance excess of £400,000. Accordingly, despite being covered by insurance on the face of it, a very significant loss was suffered by the company because of the driver’s momentary lapses. More and more companies are being encouraged to take on larger insurance excesses, and share the risk.

Continual training and sharing stories like this with drivers and operators may help them keep their awareness and alertness when driving.