Industry blasted
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THE environment magazine Vole this month has published an extraordinarily biased attack on the standards of the British coach industry, in which part-time coach driver David PageThomas attacks coaching safety standards and what he claims are their root cause — the low wages paid by many operators.
He suggests, from admittedly limited seasonal coach driving experiences, that British coaches are built with nothing but economy in mind. "Design integrity of firms such as British Leyland, Ford and AEC is minimal," he writes.
But his anger is mainly directed at operators who, he suggests are the main ogres of the scene. Many earn over £900 a day from a single coach, he claims. • But Mr Page-Thomas fails to mention the laws in Britain on drivers' hours and coach inspection standards. He fails to note that the industry is still highly seasonal and that British coaches are probably more stable and safe than European coaches because they must pass the tilt test. More importantly, he overlooks the safety record of British coaches, which makes them amongst the safest vehicles on the road.