10 June 2015
Blake Bedford-Palmer
Dear Mr Bedford-Palmer
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act Request
I refer to your request dated 7 June 2015 requesting information under the Local
Government Official Information and Meetings Act on incidents/accidents that may
have occurred at the new interchange. Your request has been referred to me to reply
and responses to your questions are noted below:
1)
How many accidents have there been at the new interchange
Two bus to bus accidents where a reversing bus has made contact with a
bus in the manoeuvring area.
There have been 11 other incidents:
-
Four incidents involving buses hitting the bollard alongside the bay.
-
One incident where a bus has hit the bay on the right side when
reversing.
-
Six incidents where the reversing bus has hit the temporary fence
alongside bay 9.
2)
What was the cause of them, shouldn't've the wide lanes, cameras and
electronic systems prevented these?
The bus to bus accidents were caused by driver error, i.e. not checking
their rear view mirrors before reversing. There has been a noticeable
improvement since the opening of the interchange as drivers have
become more familiar with the required manoeuvers.
Incidents with bollards and rear view mirrors have occurred when bus
drivers have not lined their buses entry or exit to the bay correctly. We
have had alignment lines painted to / from the bay to assist drivers and
these have made a significant difference.
The temporary fence alongside bay 9 had been an issue and has since
been moved further into the construction zone. The temporary fence is
required for the staged construction of the interchange. We’l continue to
monitor this with a view to moving it further as construction allows.
3) What is being done to prevent these happening in the future?
The bus companies are reminding drivers to use the reversing screens
but also ensure they check their rear vision mirrors before reversing out
of their bay.
Repeated practice is showing a big improvement in alignment of buses in
their bays.
The temporary fence will be moved back further as soon as practicable.
Yours sincerely
Wayne Holton-Jeffreys Director Operations
