Coach driver’s shame over using mobile on motorway
ACOACH driver filmed using a mobile phone at the wheel on a busy European motorway has had his bus driving licence revoked and been disqualified from applying for another for 12 months.
Arvonia Coaches driver Sean Davies was filmed using the handheld device during a 10-day trip to Croatia last July.
The 51-year-old, from Colwyn Bay, told Traffic Commissioner Nick Jones at a hearing in Welshpool yesterday that he did not dispute the video.
“I very much regret what I did on that day,” he said. “I have worked in the industry for 28 years and am very embarrassed and very sorry for what I have brought on the company.”
Mr Davies said he had worked for Llanrug-based Arvonia Coaches for 14 years but no longer worked as a coach driver.
The Traffic Commissioner viewed clips of video made by William Jones, of Llangefni, in private.
Mr Jones filmed Mr Davies’ actions on several occasions during the trip.
In one sequence, the vehicle was driving in heavy traffic along a motorway at speeds of over 60mph. It was raining and the driver was using the mobile as he approached roadworks.
Another clip was filmed in the driver’s rear-view mirror and showed him apparently using the phone and only glancing up at the road ahead.
It was initially thought that the coach was driving on a German Autobahn, but Mr Davies corrected the Commissioner and said it was Belgium.
The Commissioner said he was seen to look down at the device “for worryingly long periods”.
The driver claimed these periods were “two seconds usually”, to which the Traffic Commissioner remarked: “That’s long enough.”
Announcing his decision, the Traffic Commissioner said: “What you did was not a single isolated incident.
“The use of a mobile phone is unacceptable and you used it on at least three separate occasions, which is wholly unacceptable.”
During the 90-minute hearing Mr Davies claimed he had concerns about the personal safety of Mr Jones during the journey.
He said he had seen Mr Jones stand up at the front of the coach, and that he had twice refused his requests to sit down.
Following a report in the Daily Post in October, the company was visited by Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA) inspectors, and the Traffic Commissioner summoned Arvonia Coaches directors Rhiannon and Marcus Stokes to the public inquiry.
He said the DVSA report was “mostly satisfactory” and if the phone incident had not been reported it would not have led to a public inquiry.
“The use of a mobile phone is exceptionally dangerous and I would expect all operators to have policies in place regarding the use of mobile phones,” said the Commissioner.
Laura Hadzik, solicitor for Arvonia, confirmed there was no written policy in place at the time but one had been introduced since the incident.
Noting the family-run business was highly regarded and had not been before a public inquiry before, the Traffic Commissioner issued Arvonia Coaches with a formal warning.
Mr Davies left the inquiry without making any comment.