Traffic Commissioner issues ‘serious warning’ to Orkney Coaches

The Traffic Commissioner for Scotland, Joan Aitken, has given Orkney Coaches a serious warning, following a hearing into an incident last year.

No-one was injured in the incident, on July 22, 2010, which saw a bus, carrying four passengers, leave the road at Holm Branch Road, Kirkwall, and end up in a field.

A public inquiry into the incident heard that the bus was being prepared for an annual test and was not intended to be in use that day. However, it was called into service when a fault developed on another vehicle.

The bus driver reported that he “suddenly lost control of the steering”, and, upon investigation, it was found that a securing nut on the steering system had not been properly tightened during the work to prepare the vehicle for its test.

The commissioner expressed her concern about attention to detail and checking by the operator’s mechanics, and gave Orkney Coaches a serious warning as a marker that the it needs to remain vigilant.

She said: “Having heard all the evidence, I am satisfied that I do not need to take regulatory action against this operator other than to give a serious warning, which I give as a marker that vigilance is needed to ensure that the licence undertakings are fully met.”