Driver fined after bus roof smash

Bus crashes into the railway bridge between Joshua Lane and Mills Hill Road

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A BUS driver who had drove a double decker bus for the first time and subsequently crashed into a low bridge in July could have killed someone if there had been passengers on the top deck, a court heard yesterday.

Fortunately for Mughees Ahmed Talha (28), of Tintern Avenue, Astley, the bus he was driving was empty, as he was driving back to the bus depot in Oldham.

Talha pleaded not guilty at Tameside Magistrates Court to driving without due care and attention, claiming there were inadequate signs pointing out a bridge bordering Chadderton and Middleton.

Ripping

The court heard how Talha was driving along the junction of Mills Hill Road and Joshua Lane shortly after 8pm on July 5 when he crashed into a low bridge, ripping off the roof of the double decker bus.

The sign on the bridge pointed out that it was 11ft6in while the height of the bus was 14ft6in.

PC Adam Elliot of the serious collisions investigations unit, who was at the scene, said Talha should have known better and said that there was a sign on the approach to the bridge as well as an actual sign on the bridge with the stated height.

He said: "The driver should be fully aware of the dimensions of the vehicle he was driving.

"It should have been blatantly clear he was going to hit that bridge.

"If somebody had been sat on there they would have been killed. It would have been totally obvious."

Talha, who was driving the bus back to the Oldham depot, claimed that the signs were obscured by branches and that it had been the first time he was given the double decker to drive on that route.

He has worked with Stagecoach for more than one year and was even a finalist in their driver of the year awards this year. He had a clean driving record until that point.

Talha, representing himself in court, said his concentration was on watching out for motorists and cyclists and said the sun had also been in his eyes.

He said: "You can't read the signs properly. I was told there were collisions on the bridge. Drivers used to get hit by the bridge.

"I'm a good driver, it's not fully my fault. I was told to come that way, to follow the routes shown to us.

"The bridge is not straight in front of you, it's a sharp bend. The signage is not very clear."

Prosecuting, Lucy Bridges said: "Is it not your duty to look for the signs? If you're not able to see it, maybe you should pause and take a look. Maybe you weren't paying enough attention to see the sign?"

When Talha said perhaps there had been 'human error', Ms Bridges asked: "So you agree there was an error in your driving? Didn't you think, in hindsight, that you should have been paying more attention?"

Magistrates found Talha guilty. He was ordered to pay £1,005 in court costs - of which £350 was a fine - as well as given four points on his licence.