DTp pushes for PSV door law
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• The Government wants to change Britain's bus door safety laws, forcing operators to install fail-safe devices on driver-only vehicles.
This follows growing pressure on the Department of Transport from user groups such as Capital Transport to improve passenger safety. This year two people have died in south London alone as a result of being caught in the centre doors of driver-only buses.
The DTp has drafted prop osals for fail-safe bus doors that open automatically if anything gets trapped between them — but the Bus and Coach Council and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders say the proposed scheme is too costly.
They are meeting DTp representatives in Geneva this week to discuss the problem. The manufacturers favour a less sophisticated, cheaper system, similar to that used on German buses.