Standards In Bus Safety Must Be Raised - Attwood

The Environment Minister Alex Attwood has insisted that standards must be raised after it emerged that almost a quarter of buses tested at the roadside were either defective or committing an offence.

He was speaking after official statistics on bus compliance rates in Northern Ireland were published: "This is the first major report into these levels within our bus industry, I believe that it puts a spotlight on bus operators. It is not good reading.", he said.

"While the figures show that seven out of every nine buses are fully compliant, when roadworthiness defects and serious traffic offences detections are combined, a figure approaching a quarter (22.6%) are not.

"This is not good enough, and a lot of work needs to be done to raise standards within the bus industry. As Minister, I have insisted that regulation is the way to go – for hauliers, taxis, and bus and coach operators. The regulatory demands that I am and shall be rolling out across all of these sectors confirms this approach. This survey confirms I am right to adopt this approach."

During the survey, 483 buses were randomly stopped by Driver & Vehicle Agency staff and assessed for compliance with the relevant legal requirements.

It showed that the overall level of compliance in 2012 was 77.4%, but also revealed that 109 (22.6%) had at least one serious roadworthiness defect and/or was committing at least one serious offence.

The survey identified a variety of mechanical defects, lights/signalling problems, braking faults, other PSV offences and bodywork/interior issues.

The Minister added: "This level of compliance has implications for customers, for road safety and for the environment. That is clear, and is a big challenge. With increased resourcing through the recruitment of additional full-time enforcement officers and the use of fixed penalty notices by my Department, the levels of non compliance should reduce."

(CD)