Another Truck Runs Into a Coach
There was another horrendous crash on the two lane section of the M11 last night, in which two people were killed and many were injured.
There was also the Sudbury train crash, where a truck crossed the line and derailed a train and the incident where a cement mixer fell on top of a train.
You have to question why accidents like this happen.
When I used to fly private aircraft, I had to take various competency checks every year and professional drivers do a lot more. Do the drivers of trucks have to take these sort of checks?
Also, as many drivers are from outside of the UK and may well be licensed in their own country, do they have proper checks?
But we mustn’t get xenophobic here, as there have been several accidents involving British coaches on the continent. There was also at least one in the UK, where the driver had been thought to be drinking.
I think that the best we can do at present, is to analyse all of the accidents and make recommendations.
One thing that is a common factor in many accidents involving trains and other vehicles is level crossings. And this is not just a British problem, but one that occurs everywhere there are level crossings. I stood by the level crossing at Northumberland Park last week and was surprised at how many times it opened and closed in the half hour I was there. No-one tried anything silly while I was watching, but this is a classic crossing that could be closed to road traffic, as there is a bridge fairly nearby. It might cause inconvenience for a couple of months, but closing the crossing, might save a few lives. How many other crossings could be closed?
Today’s accident happened on an unlighted two-lane section of motorway. Should we light more of the dangerous sections of roads?
Other factors are also involved in many traffic accidents.
We should analyse and act!
The Anonymous Widower 
I agree all professional drivers should have regular checks, be it trains, lorries, buses or trams.
I used to live in mid Kent and often went southwards – on the A roads it was not uncommon to find lorries with foreign plates on the wrong side of the road, despite signs in various languages!
We have a lot of Polish people in this area, and a couple of years ago the driver on one of the school buses was daft enough to ask a couple of the older students to direct him to the school. Hour and half later one of the younger students phoned his mum to say what an exciting time they were having driving around Derbyshire. The mother phoned the school who were wondering what the heck had happened to the bus. A small part of me had to admire the cleverness of the students who had instigated it, dont know what happened to them, but that school only ever had English speaking bus drivers and school governor assocation and council had a great deal to say to the bus company!
Comment by liz | April 30, 2011 |
It would seem that he could drive competently, unlike the guy who hit the train with a sewage tanker at Sudbury.
Comment by AnonW | May 1, 2011 |