Safety on bendy bus 'like Russian roulette'

By JO-MARIE BROWN

The parents of Matthew Scott Taylor, who was fatally run over by his "bendy" school bus, believe travelling on the buses is like playing Russian roulette.

The 12-year-old Murrays Bay Intermediate pupil was killed last May after his backpack became caught in the rear doors and he fell beneath the wheels.

Stagecoach bus driver Kereopa Te Waru Puru was yesterday convicted in the Auckland District Court of careless driving causing death and failing to stop after an accident.

His lawyer had questioned whether Puru could possibly have seen Matthew if the bus had been bent as it was pulling away from the stop.

Matthew's parents, Lex and Debbie Taylor, were appalled the bus doors did not reopen when the bag became caught and believe the tragedy could happen again.

"It's hard to understand how it could happen in this day and age with all the technology we have. It's like playing Russian roulette," Mr Taylor said. Matthew's mother believed people would not allow their children to ride on bendy buses if they realised the danger involved.

Stagecoach operates 38 bendy buses in Auckland. They were first introduced in 1983.

During the trial, the view from the five mirrors installed on Puru's bendy bus was rated as "extremely poor" by an experienced crash investigator.

Land Transport Safety Authority senior vehicle compliance officer Ian Everiss gave evidence that the convex mirror mounted just inside the rear stairwell miniaturised the view of people exiting through the rear doors.

While he did not agree this amounted to an "extremely poor" view, Mr Everiss agreed it was "not as brilliant as it could be."

But a spokesman for Stagecoach, Harold Williams, insisted that buses were the safest method of transporting children to and from school.

Statistics gathered by the company showed that between 1990 and 1999 children aged between 5 and 15 years were 45 times more likely to have an injury accident if travelling to school by bike.

Those who walked were 13 times more likely to be injured, and those travelling by car were at seven times greater risk, Mr Williams said.

"In almost 20 years of operating bendy buses, Matthew Taylor's tragic death was the first serious injury accident."

A number of safety measures had since been introduced, including prohibiting schoolchildren from exiting from bendy buses' rear doors, Mr Williams said.

A television camera had also been installed over the rear stairwell of all bendy buses to give the driver a better view.

A new "bus stop brake" had so far been installed in half of Stagecoach's 560 bus fleet. The device prevented buses from moving until the rear doors were completely closed.

Mr Williams disagreed with criticism over bendy buses' mirrors, saying they were above the minimum standard required by the LTSA.

Auckland LTSA regional manager Peter Kippenberger said he was not aware of any gross safety issues involving the bendy bus fleet.

Stagecoach had improved safety since the May 10 accident, Mr Kippenberger said.

"It was a tragic case with a number of contributing factors but there's certainly no need for public alarm."