M5 Coach Crash

[philip]

Just saw online that an HGV had hit the back of a coach on the M5 this morning. Looking at the footage of the Coach it looks more like a city bus that you would see on a regular bus service. Are these Buses as safe as coaches and would it have been as bad as it was if it was a touring coach?

[BerlingoHDI]

The bus that was involved is a Volvo b10 and these are a solid vehicle but not when a big lorry like that hits it. I used to drive them buses regularly the one involved is an ex stagecoach bus and was sold on, according to a newspaper the bus was carrying fruit pickers from birmingham to the evesham area. As far as i am aware the bus should have been fitted with seatbelts for its purpose but they wasnt fitted on this one. Regarding to safety i think coaches are a little safer due to their size against another large vehicle.

[j90xxx]

You hit the nail on the head.
It is a bus not a coach. Coaches are designed for motorway travel and are fitted with seat belts. They are more than capable of the motorway speed limit. (70mph upto 39ft long; 60mph if longer.)
That is a bus and is not.
3 years ago I worked for a vehicle collection company briefly and hated driving buses on the motorways. I drove a double decker bus one day from Kent to Liverpool, at 45mph! Perfectly legal as there is no minimum speed limit on motorways in the UK. (Or any road, unless there is a blue sign, but that is only advisory.)
Coincidentally, about 4 years ago I saw a similar bus broke down in lane 1 in exactly the same place. It was almost dark and it had no lights on, the bonnet was raised (the engine is in the back) making it very difficult to see until the last minute. Very scary. I phoned the emergency services immediately. Fortunately that incident didn't have the same consequences.
Luckily (?) in this incident today it was just after 6am on a Saturday morning, imagine the carnage if it had of been Monday morning....

[philip]

First bus in Glasgow still have a few of these Volvo buses driving about and are also used for L drivers.


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[j90xxx]

Todays headlines are misleading.
They all state 'coach' crash, when it is obviously a bus.
The 2 are completely different in this circumstance.
Would you travel on that bus on a motorway? I wouldn't.
Think what a difference a coach would have been in this collision? Larger, stronger and seat-belts!
Should be a law against it. But there isn't.illyme:

[Opensauce]

It seems odd that they have charged bus driver with death by dangerous driving when it was the truck that rammed the bus from behind. The bus was broken down, apparently.

[XTR]

I agree,it is the truck driver who is in the wrong,he should have been driving much slower given the foggy conditions. You should be able to stop within the distance you can see.


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[j90xxx]

One of the first things the police would have checked is the trucks tachograph to tell them the exact speed at impact.
Looking at the pictures (I'm no expert) if the truck had been on the limit (56mph) then the bus would have been obliterated.
The truck driver may be charged with an offence at a later date. He is in hospital in a critical condition. You cannot arrest and charge someone in that condition as you have to be at least awake and understand what you are being charged with. Think that's the Law.

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This to me does not look like the aftermath of 44 tonnes@56mph.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=m5+cras...=179&ty=78

[j90xxx]

Unfortunately the lorry driver has now, sadly, died.

[philip]

Unfortunately the lorry driver has now, sadly, died.

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I done an advanced driving coarse for HGV and it follows almost the same coarse for a touring coach.
I thought if a Bus/Touring coach breaks down on the Motorway the driver IF SAFE TO DO SO must evacuate all passengers and lead them behind the crash barrier on the embankment side of the Motorway.