Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Stagecoach’s hi-tech solution to warn bus drivers of low bridges
PERTH bus firm Stagecoach is spending £4 million to help stop its drivers crashing into bridges.
It is the first bus operator to invest in a national rollout of new bridge alert technology across its fleet.
The system, developed by GreenRoad, uses GPS tracking and mapping services to alert the driver to nearby low bridges.
An in-cab alarm sounds if it is determined the bus is heading towards a low bridge.
Data from Network Rail shows there were 1,714 railway bridge strikes across the country in the 2019-20 financial year.
Most of these involve heavy goods vehicles but between 40 and 50 a year are related to buses.
Last September a Stagecoach bus carrying more than 70 schoolchildren in Winchester crashed into a railway bridge taking its roof off.
The incident resulted in 15 children requiring treatment.
In the past two years the firm’s buses have hit bridges in Inverness, Cambridge, and Manchester.
The safety system will be installed on Stagecoach’s 8,000 buses in England, Scotland and Wales.
It also uses a trafficlight LED system on the dashboard to gives drivers instant feedback about their manoeuvres.
Stagecoach said this will encourage smoother, safer, more fuel-efficient driving that is more comfortable for passengers.
Chief executive Martin Griffiths said: “Everything we do starts with safety: for our customers, our people, pedestrians and other road users.
“Our country’s infrastructure includes many railway bridges designed in an era before modern transport vehicles went on the road, creating a safety risk.
“We have been working with GreenRoad to design this important Low Bridge Alert enhancement to their proven safety technology and are now implementing it to bolster the extensive measures we already have in place.”