Croydon Tramlink Accident - 06:07hrs - Wednesday 9th November 2016
PART 2
BBC NEWS HEADLINE - 24th April 2017
Croydon tram crash: Drivers 'fell asleep' on fatal line
"Four drivers have admitted falling asleep while operating trams in Croydon, where seven people were killed and 51 injured after a tram derailed in November 2016".
We have four drivers that admitted falling asleep, the reality will probably be each driver at some time during their career. With shift work and today's lifestyle it is inevitable that this will happen. This should have been factored in to any risk assessment. (Sorry did I mention risk assessment).
"Drivers said a safety device, known as "a dead man's handle", failed to activate and stop their trams".
Some drivers have voiced concerns over the most important safety device on these trams. So what happens next? We get the following par for the course disgusting and disgraceful First Group response.
"Tram Operations Ltd, which runs the line, said driver fatigue was monitored and controls were "fully functional".
First Group Management deflect from a very serious allegation and basically call the drivers liars! Shocking to some, but sadly not to me, I witnessed this very behaviour towards Health and Safety on a regular basis, this website is my evidence. Judge Colin Grazin who took a case management meeting came to the exact same conclusion in his own words regarding IGNORANCE, a complete disregard towards safety issues. - "It is equally not in dispute that in the vast majority, if not all, of those cases, the Respondent (TPE) simply did not respond to them".
That's right, a complete IGNORANCE to hundreds of reports on safety related issues.
"An interim report into November's crash suggested the tram was speeding and the driver may have "lost awareness". It found there was no emergency braking and the tram had been travelling at 46mph before it crashed in a 12mph zone, near the Sandilands Junction area of Croydon".
If this Management were professional and carried out a route risk assessment they would have known that the area of this accident and possibly been able to identify other areas that posed a real chance of a driver exceeding a speed limit with the possibility of a derailment. A derailment that could result in injuries or deaths.
Any conclusion from a risk assessment would have asked - what can we put in place to prevent a driver from losing or having a lapse of concentration especially in an area where the speed decreases to a severe speed restriction of only 12mph? There are safety devices that could have been installed, one of these would have been a "Vigilance Device". Had "Vigilance" been fitted, this accident would never have happened. Why can I see the danger and propose a solution when this First Group Management were totally oblivious?
However, a BBC investigation for the Victoria Derbyshire programme, has found that at least three trams have been recorded speeding on that same line since the derailment. One was travelling at 40mph in a 25mph zone. Another is understood to have been speeding near the crash site.
This highlights the fact that human error will always be there, its not a wilful act on behalf of these drivers, there is no one factor you can point to and say this is the cause, its a mix of many different ingredients. You can however use proven safety systems to help alleviate any potential danger's that could arise from human error.
The real cause of this accident was IGNORANCE on behalf of many individuals, lets face reality, health and safety is a sick joke in this country, every organisation screams how proactive they are, they produce all the glossy brochures, but the TRUTH is a distance away. The main reason being that there is no regulation, evidence shown on this site regarding the (ORR) Office of Rail and Road proves this.
First Group will do whatever it takes to hide the truth, this is truth that is in plain sight. In my case they fell over each other to deliver the fatal blow, their lies and mistakes didn't matter because they knew that nobody would challenge them. They even used the services of a solicitor against me before I even had my appeal hearing, evidence available in the section titled, "TPE use a solicitor".
We have four drivers that admitted falling asleep, the reality will probably be each driver at some time during their career. With shift work and today's lifestyle it is inevitable that this will happen. This should have been factored in to any risk assessment. (Sorry did I mention risk assessment).
"Drivers said a safety device, known as "a dead man's handle", failed to activate and stop their trams".
Some drivers have voiced concerns over the most important safety device on these trams. So what happens next? We get the following par for the course disgusting and disgraceful First Group response.
"Tram Operations Ltd, which runs the line, said driver fatigue was monitored and controls were "fully functional".
First Group Management deflect from a very serious allegation and basically call the drivers liars! Shocking to some, but sadly not to me, I witnessed this very behaviour towards Health and Safety on a regular basis, this website is my evidence. Judge Colin Grazin who took a case management meeting came to the exact same conclusion in his own words regarding IGNORANCE, a complete disregard towards safety issues. - "It is equally not in dispute that in the vast majority, if not all, of those cases, the Respondent (TPE) simply did not respond to them".
That's right, a complete IGNORANCE to hundreds of reports on safety related issues.
"An interim report into November's crash suggested the tram was speeding and the driver may have "lost awareness". It found there was no emergency braking and the tram had been travelling at 46mph before it crashed in a 12mph zone, near the Sandilands Junction area of Croydon".
If this Management were professional and carried out a route risk assessment they would have known that the area of this accident and possibly been able to identify other areas that posed a real chance of a driver exceeding a speed limit with the possibility of a derailment. A derailment that could result in injuries or deaths.
Any conclusion from a risk assessment would have asked - what can we put in place to prevent a driver from losing or having a lapse of concentration especially in an area where the speed decreases to a severe speed restriction of only 12mph? There are safety devices that could have been installed, one of these would have been a "Vigilance Device". Had "Vigilance" been fitted, this accident would never have happened. Why can I see the danger and propose a solution when this First Group Management were totally oblivious?
However, a BBC investigation for the Victoria Derbyshire programme, has found that at least three trams have been recorded speeding on that same line since the derailment. One was travelling at 40mph in a 25mph zone. Another is understood to have been speeding near the crash site.
This highlights the fact that human error will always be there, its not a wilful act on behalf of these drivers, there is no one factor you can point to and say this is the cause, its a mix of many different ingredients. You can however use proven safety systems to help alleviate any potential danger's that could arise from human error.
The real cause of this accident was IGNORANCE on behalf of many individuals, lets face reality, health and safety is a sick joke in this country, every organisation screams how proactive they are, they produce all the glossy brochures, but the TRUTH is a distance away. The main reason being that there is no regulation, evidence shown on this site regarding the (ORR) Office of Rail and Road proves this.
First Group will do whatever it takes to hide the truth, this is truth that is in plain sight. In my case they fell over each other to deliver the fatal blow, their lies and mistakes didn't matter because they knew that nobody would challenge them. They even used the services of a solicitor against me before I even had my appeal hearing, evidence available in the section titled, "TPE use a solicitor".