Wheel Loss on School Bus – Operator Escapes with Warning and Transport Manager Keeps Repute at Traffic Commissioner’s Public Inquiry

The operator in this case, represented by barrister Harry Bowyer at Public Inquiry, suffered a wheel loss on a coach with schoolchildren on board. The operator immediately began an investigation into the causes of the wheel loss. They instructed a competent transport consultant to finesse their systems. They commissioned two audits, one to highlight any problems with their existing systems and the second in order to demonstrate that they had taken appropriate remedial action including putting a further transport manager on the licence who could do some of the heavy lifting for the director\transport manager who was already in place.

The Traffic Commissioner was impressed by the action that was taken as soon as the problem came to light and the efforts made to upgrade the systems already in place and to educate staff and management.

The moral of this story is that action taken immediately that an operator realises there are problems with their systems is far more valuable in the eyes of the Traffic Commissioner than action taken in response to a call in letter or ordered at a Public Inquiry.