A Lonely Place

I travel about a bit by bus and occasionally by coach. In the light of yesterday’s Solus Coaches’ coach crash in France, I found myself thinking of the number of crashes I’ve experienced directly while actually on board—not those reported after the event. I can recall just three, which indicates (unscientifically) to me that most journeys, most of the time, are perfectly safe.

Once was where a driver hit a roadside boulder, causing a loud bang and not a great deal else, certainly no injuries; and again where a bus driver (in my full view while at the front nearside) approached a certain bus station far too casually and hit the railings. This also caused a loud bang and not much else. Both were embarrassing for the drivers and inconvenient for the respective engineering departments. And the third? I managed to take the nearside mirror out on a tree : ( This, too, caused a loud bang and a degree of embarrassment. It wasn’t easy to fix on the roadside, either, but at least I could put it right.

By chance, I was passenger on a coach, on Saturday. It was full. And remarkably uneventful. Why should it be anything other? The vehicle had seatbelts but no one wore them, at least not those in my immediate vicinity. This gives a more scientific view of how passengers perceive coach travel. I’m sure they would’ve belted up in their cars but felt safe enough on the coach not to do so. I’m also sure had the driver reminded passengers (which he didn’t) then compliance would’ve been higher.

Yesterday’s French crash killed one and seriously injured four. It seems to me that, on this occasion, most passengers wore their belts. With a vehicle on its side, I’d’ve otherwise expected the toll to be much higher. If so, we should all be grateful for such common sense.

While there’s early and unconfirmed speculation that the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, the investigation will need to take its course.

Till then, it’s a matter of managing things, or trying to. Every operator needs a plan for this, however unpleasant doing so might be, because dealing with a disaster places you in a very lonely and isolated position. Suddenly, the world points their collective fingers in your direction and expects you to stay calm, respond correctly and cope. Police, media, clients, HSE, VOSA and families of passengers place you under considerable pressure. You have no friends. Where there has been a death, the police come in hard, very hard.

You can never control the media or the situation but you can help manage it. The larger groups all have such a plan but it surprises me that the smaller independents tend not to think about it. This is where the CPT comes in. It can be invaluable at times like this. Yes, CPT membership isn’t cheap but consider how valuable your reputation is when there’s a real crisis.

The statement of regret on the Solus website struck the right note and tone. It didn’t appear till late in the day, though. Perhaps the website fell over because of pressure of visitors... the very people who were hungry (and possibly desperate) for information but tried in vain. It doesn’t help when the prime method of communication wasn’t available for much of the day. After repatriation, communication’s the first important thing and a website must surely be the key constituent. If not the web, then what about Facebook. Nothing there, though.

There’s much more to a disaster and recovery plan than communication, of course. If you’re interested, I wrote about this way back in January 2007 directly after the National Express M4/M25 crash that killed more people. See what you think of it. Meanwhile, the UK bus & coach industry continues to enjoy an enviable safety record and reputation. That’s something we shouldn’t be embarrassed about and we need to say it loud.