LUCKY ESCAPE – ONCE MORE
Bus hits hedge a second time
A Rutherglen mum-of-two says it’s a miracle no-one was injured after a bus mounted the pavement and crushed up against her garden fence in an effort to manoeuvre round a tight, blind bend.
It’s the second time that a First Bus on the M2 route to Toryglen has caused damage to Leza Lafferty’s hedge and metal fence, as well as the pavement, on Kirkconnel Drive in Spittal.
Leza, 44, was at home with daughters Mia, 14, and eight-year-old Maisy on Thursday afternoon when she heard a loud bang.
“I heard a terrible crashing noise. I looked out and there was a woman on board the bus who was indicating to me that the driver had hit my fence,” explained Leza, who immediately went out to inspect the scene.
A van was parked on the road opposite the stationary bus, where the council had painted a ‘keep clear’ sign at the T-junction after the Laffertys’ fence was damaged in a previous similar incident involving a First bus.
“The bus driver shouted to me: ‘Do you think I should try and reverse?’ and he asked me if I knew who the van belonged to,” continued Leza.
“But that is missing the issue. He should have stopped well before he mounted the pavement.”
The impact of the collision resulted in a large section of the lower part of the bus’s bodywork being ripped off.
Leza continued: “I tried to speak to the driver. I said: ‘What about my fence?’ But he just ignored me, picked up the debris from the bus and drove off.”
The fence had been pulled out of its foundations and the hedge and pavement were damaged.
“It is metal and it has been pushed so hard, it has come out of the ground. The paving stones were all damaged too,” she said.
“We are constantly asking First Bus not to put big buses on this route. It’s just a really bad junction. We have been told the wee buses break down a lot and that is when they put the big ones on in their place.
“They should not be trying to squeeze by. Buses should not mount pavements, especially at a blind corner,” continued Leza.
“Someone could have been walking along that pavement and kids scoot round it on their bikes all the time. There are animals and pets in the area too who could have been injured.”
After Leza contacted the police to report the incident, an inspector from the bus company called at her home to assess the damage.
“He was very good. He said the bus driver was in the wrong and had not followed procedure and should not have mounted the pavement,” explained Leza.
“He said it was lucky the fence had been there. Had it just been the hedge, he said the bus could have toppled, come into the garden and hit the house.”
After the previous incident two years ago, First Bus offered to replace the entire fence. But in order to save her hedge, Leza settled for a repair to a section of the fence.
Now, she says, she’s back to square one.
Duncan Cameron, operations director for First Glasgow, said: “I can confirm our vehicle operating on the M2 service was involved in an incident on Thursday that resulted in damage to a garden in the Spittal area.
“Thankfully, no-one was injured and an immediate investigation has now been launched into the root cause.
“The investigation will cover all concerns raised including the positioning of parked vehicles and other obstructions over clearly-marked ‘keep clear’ lines.
“A member of our operations team was out to discuss the incident with the affected party and gave all the necessary information.”