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Tandem and child trailer driven off the road by a Stagecoach bus driver

Family forced off road by bus say there were told ‘cycling isn’t a priority’ by Northamptonshire Police

Cycling UK say that police seem to have applied the ‘nobody died’ test in deciding not to prosecute

by Alex Bowden

Fri, Mar 17, 2017 17:27

A cycling family who suffered a close pass by a bus say they were told by Northamptonshire Police that there was not enough evidence of careless driving to support a prosecution, and that cycling wasn't a priority.

Alexander Dutton and his wife were riding a tandem with their two-year-old daughter on a trailer when they were forced off the road last September.

Writing on YouTube, Dutton said: “A Stagecoach bus driver attempted to overtake on a blind left-hand bend, when a car came the other way. The bus driver pulled left and braked, forcing us off the road and almost into the back of a car parked off the carriageway. The bus driver then drove off without stopping, despite me giving chase on foot and shouting for him to stop.”

He added: “Northamptonshire Police have told us that there isn't enough evidence of careless driving to support a prosecution, and that cycling isn't a priority for them.”

Cycling UK’s Senior Road Safety and Legal Campaigner Duncan Dollimore said that three days before the expiration of the six month timeframe for bringing a prosecution for careless driving, Dutton and his wife received a letter from Northamptonshire Police indicating that they did not intend to prosecute the coach driver.

“That letter states that in making their decision the police considered not only whether an offence had occurred, but also whether a prosecution was necessary, with the explanation that ‘due to the nature of the injuries’ the driver would be offered a place on a driver re-training course if they decided to prosecute.

“As he had already attended a similar course in the interim, arranged through his employer, the police seem to have decided that was enough, that all’s well that ends well, and applied the ‘nobody died’ test in deciding not to prosecute.

“It simply beggars belief that nobody at Northamptonshire Police realised that the offence of careless driving concerns the standard of driving, and the fact that nobody was injured does not excuse bad driving, particularly by a professional driver.

“If they don’t think anyone was affected by this incident perhaps they should listen again to the audio of the incident, and the terrified screams form the back of the tandem.”

A spokeswoman for Stagecoach said: "Safety is our absolute priority and we were concerned to hear about this incident. We have liaised directly with the family involved since the incident occurred. Our local team investigated the circumstances and the driver involved was dealt with through our internal disciplinary procedure."

Northamptonshire Police have been contacted for comment.

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Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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26 comments

beezus fufoon | 7 years ago

3 likes

there's a few more issues here that nobody has mentioned...

the parked cars are in an awful position

the rear coach camera is not in focus, and not fit for purpose

Swiss has hinted at this - the cyclists cannot see through the coach and have no way of knowing about the oncoming car, so they maintain their speed and are forced to brake late

I'm also a bit dubious about how appropriate that road is for coach use

ktache | 7 years ago

2 likes

The laws apply at all times. Maybe attempt to drive better.

Swiss | 7 years ago

1 like

Laws generally apply once common sense has failed.

ChrisB200SX | 7 years ago

5 likes

If it isn't a blind bend then the driver has decided to overtake when they can see the parked cars and driver coming towards them. That's equally bad and trying apportion some blame to the cyclists and car coming the other way is entirely nonsense.

Swiss | 7 years ago

1 like

I knew when I first posted that knee jerk reactions would ensue, but here goes...

Hardly a blind bend - https://goo.gl/maps/58YfmnvsDYu

As I posted before, the oncoming car should have had an inking of what was coming towards them. Seeing an oncoming bus on your side of the road, which is both overtaking and approaching a parked car, perhaps you'd slow/giveway?

To be fair to the bus driver he starts his overtaking manoever on the other side of the road giving the tandem & trailer room.

I just think that the bus was caught out by a combination of circumstances.

If a bus seemed to be struggling to overtake me on my bike i'd just apply the brakes / freewheel a bit instead of pressing on. The clue would be in how long its alongside me.

All 3 parties in this seem to be intent on pressing on as they all deem themselves to having a certain right of way. Sometimes you just have to back off or giveway even though you have on paper 'right of way', its easy enough to have an accident if you want to.

Looking at the 'cyclist's' previous youtube posts suggests to me that similar events have been happening to him before.

I dearly wanted one of those trailers but after careful consideration I decided that the only safe place in which to use one would be on the local shared use path/cycleway and both me & kids would have been bored of the same path quickly.

I ride everyday and each time I am aware of other road users potential for accidents and that I will come off worse if such an event was to occur. That is the decision & risk I take for myself, I dont dwell on each near miss etc otherwise I wouldnt enjoy riding.

This site is often like reading an odd mirror of The Daily Mail, with all mistakes demanding harsh punishment, different viewpoints to be squashed.

Give and take is required as is some understanding of each others requirements on the road.

BTW - Cutting across mini roundabout central markings is not legal as per Highway Code;

188-Mini-roundabouts. Approach these in the same way as normal roundabouts. All vehicles MUST pass round the central markings except large vehicles which are physically incapable of doing so.

Try and chill out folks - on and off the road.

John Smith replied to Swiss | 7 years ago

4 likes

Swiss wrote:

I knew when I first posted that knee jerk reactions would ensue, but here goes...

Hardly a blind bend - https://goo.gl/maps/58YfmnvsDYu

As I posted before, the oncoming car should have had an inking of what was coming towards them. Seeing an oncoming bus on your side of the road, which is both overtaking and approaching a parked car, perhaps you'd slow/giveway?

To be fair to the bus driver he starts his overtaking manoever on the other side of the road giving the tandem & trailer room.

I just think that the bus was caught out by a combination of circumstances.

If a bus seemed to be struggling to overtake me on my bike i'd just apply the brakes / freewheel a bit instead of pressing on. The clue would be in how long its alongside me.

All 3 parties in this seem to be intent on pressing on as they all deem themselves to having a certain right of way. Sometimes you just have to back off or giveway even though you have on paper 'right of way', its easy enough to have an accident if you want to.

Looking at the 'cyclist's' previous youtube posts suggests to me that similar events have been happening to him before.

I dearly wanted one of those trailers but after careful consideration I decided that the only safe place in which to use one would be on the local shared use path/cycleway and both me & kids would have been bored of the same path quickly.

I ride everyday and each time I am aware of other road users potential for accidents and that I will come off worse if such an event was to occur. That is the decision & risk I take for myself, I dont dwell on each near miss etc otherwise I wouldnt enjoy riding.

This site is often like reading an odd mirror of The Daily Mail, with all mistakes demanding harsh punishment, different viewpoints to be squashed.

Give and take is required as is some understanding of each others requirements on the road.

BTW - Cutting across mini roundabout central markings is not legal as per Highway Code;

188-Mini-roundabouts. Approach these in the same way as normal roundabouts. All vehicles MUST pass round the central markings except large vehicles which are physically incapable of doing so.

Try and chill out folks - on and off the road.

Perhaps they didn't take the mini roundabout fully correctly, although I interpret that rule as meaning don't go with wheels on the wrong side, as there are so many roundabouts that just are not big enough to stay off the paint. But anyway, it has nothing to do with it.

The driver is 100% at fault. He either chose to overtake when he could not see what was coming or could see the car and went either way. Whatever it's not a mistake, its bad driving.

Its not about dwelling on anything, but demanding something change, otherwise who knows when a near miss won't be?

Ush replied to Swiss | 7 years ago

2 likes

Swiss wrote:

I just think that the bus was caught out by a combination of circumstances.

In many industries the training around accidents emphasises that they are the result of a series of circumstances, individually predictable and controllable to different degrees. Avoiding accidents means eliminating the steps in the chain that leads to a higher probability of an incident.

In this case the bus driver failed to follow a behaviour pattern that reduced the risk of an accident.

He has been trained to do the opposite.

The law suggests that he do the opposite.

Your fatalistic approach to this suggests that you would be a dangerous road user. Please stay home.