Handbrake incident not driver error

The RTBU has rejected claims that an accident caused when a bus handbrake released was due to “human error”.

The incident last week involved the handbrake of a bus releasing 22 seconds after the driver left the bus. It rolled forward hitting another bus in front, smashing the windscreen.

The union became involved in the investigation as soon as the accident in Loftus Street happened last week and says that the driver was not at fault and would not be disciplined.

Reports in the Sun Herald quoted the Office of Transport Safety Investigation (OTSI) spokesman saying that the event could have been prevented “with a little more care”.

However this is not the first time brakes have failed with a bus rolling onto railway tracks in 2008.

The handbrakes of all buses are now being checked by the STA, which indicates they suspect mechanical rather that human error is the cause.