Much of bus fleet a disgrace, says critic
The Bus and Coach Association (BCA) has rubbished the idea of compulsory seatbelts in all buses travelling over 50 kilometres an hour, but it will look into the causes of recent serious bus crashes.
In less than a week one person has died and 39 have been injured in separate crashes on Mt Ruapehu and in Manawatu¯ .
The editor of the car review website dogandlemon.com, Clive Matthew-Wilson, called much of the national bus fleet a ‘‘disgrace’’.
He believes all passenger buses travelling at more than 50kmh should have seatbelts, and has called for a ban on the importing of buses that do not have proper shoulder harnesses or electronic stability control.
Matthew-Wilson conceded that retro-fitting seatbelts could be expensive for older buses where the floor would need strengthening to provide adequate anchor points, but it could be done.
BCA chief executive Barry Kidd said many urban buses operated on dual carriageways and motorways where the speed limit was more than 50kmh, and it wasn’t practical having seatbelts when people were constantly getting on and off.
Previous safety reviews had concluded the cost of compulsory seatbelts would outweigh the benefit, he said.
The BCA discussed bus crashes at a scheduled meeting with Transport Minister Phil Twyford this week and Kidd said they had agreed to work with the ministry to look at the common factors and causes in a recent ‘‘spike’’ in crashes, and what changes might be helpful.
In early July, Stuff revealed there were 161 serious bus crashes resulting in casualties last year, 40 more than in 2016.
‘‘The initial reaction was that was a bit of a blip, but now [that] the upward trend has continued a bit longer and we’ve had a couple more, I think it merits a bit of a second look,’’ Kidd said.
Matthew-Wilson said he blamed the previous government for encouraging a low-cost culture in commercial transport.
‘‘They had multiple opportunities to do something about it as the tourism industry grew and did nothing whatsoever.
‘‘The bar is set so low it’s just an encouragement for people to buy the cheapest and unsafest vehicles and fail to maintain them properly.’’
Electronic stability control helped prevent a vehicle losing control in emergencies, but it was only optional on imported buses, Matthew-Wilson said.
‘‘I’m just appalled. We’re talking about 50 per cent of rollovers being stopped by this one piece of technology. New Zealand’s roads are particularly dangerous for buses, because they’re often narrow and winding – a perfect setup for a rollover accident.’’
Matthew-Wilson said it was a miracle there were not more deaths from these kinds of crashes, which also resulted in horrific injuries.
Older buses that were fine shuttling passengers around city streets were not necessarily the best choice for highways or mountain roads. ‘‘If the bus rolls onto the roof it may collapse and crush people snug in their seatbelts.’’
But Kidd said it was not practical to have different rules for different areas. ‘‘When you register a vehicle in New Zealand you can use it anywhere so it would be difficult to impose a particular set of safety regulations to vehicle operated in particular geographic areas.’’
However, he agreed operators had a responsibility to choose vehicles appropriate for the road and weather conditions, and maintenance was also an issue.
By and large New Zealand commercial vehicles were maintained to a high standard, and operators in main centres and on main highways were regularly stopped for safety checks, Kidd said.