M5 Coach Crash

[elsiegee40]

BBC News - M5 coach crash: Lorry driver dies in hospital

Am I the only one who can't work out why the driver of a coach that had broken down was questioned "on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving"?

It's not his fault the coach broke down where it did and you can hardly push it out of the way.

Or have I missed something?

[Ignatius]

There was a comment on the news that the hazard lights were very faint, as were the ordinary rear lights (implying that the rear fog light(s) weren't on). I do not know if it's relevant, but they also said that the coach was not fitted with seatbelts. I do not know the law regarding this or if the driver is responsible.

I, too, was surprised that the coach driver had been arrested as I thought it would be the lorry driver who would be responsible for avoiding the collision. I can't recall how many times I've seen a massive lorry driving down a motorway at maybe 50mph but sitting less than a few car lengths behind another lorry or vehicle. I think that their argument might relate to aerodynamics and fuel economy. I was told by a police (advanced) driver that there are always at least two people involved in a collision: one who causes it and the other who fails to avoid it.

[Steve21]

Guessing it's more a standard thing to do, but guessing it may also be due to the fact the passengers were still on the bus 15 minutes after it broke down. The drive should get them off the road I'm assuming (embankment etc), duty of care etc

Steve

[steve]

Maybe he didn't use the hard shoulder when he could have, maybe he pulled into the path of the lorry. Did he have the hazards on? Was the coach in good working order? Had the driver had the right amount of rest? Was the driver intoxicated? Should the coach passengers been off loaded - you should get out safely and wait on the verge.

Many unanswered questions .....

[elsiegee40]

He had broken down, so I assume he stopped where he broke down. Who knows if the bus electrics were working?

And if the passengers don't get off that's not dangerous driving... negligence maybe, but not dangerous driving.

[synaesthesia]

My first thought was "obviously the lorry driver" but from what I can gather, the coach had broken down, pulled into the hard shoulder (where it was seen by witnesses), tried to continue, failed harder in lane 1, got belted by the lorry which had obviously tried to avoid due to where it was buried in the coach. The lorry driver has now sadly died.
Coach had no fog lights on, just hazards, it had no seatbelts, the owner couldn't give less of a sh** about it, so it would appear as if they have a clear blame. From what we know, having read the news anyway.

Plus, one big no no : if the coach is stopped in a live lane UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD YOU EVEN CONSIDER GETTING OUT. *IF* it had broken down on the hard shoulder originally it should have stayed there until assistance arrived.