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Eleven hospitalised in central London double-decker bus crash
Miranda Bryant and Dick Murray25 Feb 2010
Passengers on a London double-decker bus had a miraculous escape today when it smashed through railings and almost careered down the steps of Monument Tube station.
The driver of the number 141 lost control of the vehicle which left the road, collided with iron railings before crashing across the pavement towards the station entrance, leaving it dramatically hanging over the steps to the Tube station exit.
A full emergency was launched following the accident which happened shortly after 10 am, as the bus made its way towards London Bridge in King William Street. The surrounding area was immediately sealed off.
Eleven people were taken to hospital after suffering minor injuries.
A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service said: “We responded to a crash involving a bus at 10.20 am - we sent two ambulance crews."
Shocked onlookers spoke of a “tremendous noise” as the Arriva bus company-owned vehicle left the road and hit the kerb, before debris started coming down the stairs of the station exit.
They said passengers were trapped under the rubble and the bus driver's face was dripping with blood.
Dean Shortt, 40, an associate manager of Crouch End, was in the station as the incident happened. He said: “The bang sounded like a bomb at the top of the stairs. It's very lucky no-one got badly hurt by the rubble.”
A TfL spokesman said: “A bus has hit some pedestrian guard rail outside the exit to Monument tube station. Emergency services are on site and we will carry out a thorough investigation.”
Reader views (28)
Most London bus companies work there drivers on rotas.
Earlies, Middle and late duties. They work a straight seven days on then two days off on the third week they have four days off, and then it rotas. This can upset the body clock making the driver feel drained and performing below par(Jet lag would describe this perfectly). Add to this the job involving traffic, The general public, drunks and fare dodgers, plus the inspectors and garages on there backs can be very exhausting for any human being. I have known some driver working an 80 hour week in seven days. You try it, its not easy. This opens up the risk of accidents and shorten life spans for the public and the bus driver himself.Yes Im a London bus driver so I should know. I have wrongly put my name down for the fear of losing my job. Thanks for listening.
- James corner., North London., 02/08/2011 17:57
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i hope no kids were there
- lisa, london, 26/04/2010 14:43
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i hope no kids were there
- lisa, london, 26/04/2010 14:40
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I used to drive out of a London bus garage. When TFL introduced the DSA bus driver checks I was one of a minority that had no faults. The average at my garage was 3 minor faults and across London wide 7 minor faults on a short assessment. I also had a lot of trouble as I refused to drive mechanical vehicles. I took a lot of this up with TFL and the operator I worked for but in the end resigned. The London bus industry is run by profit hungry operators who flout safety. Good professional drivers all ways end up leaving and your left with the monkeys. Long serving drivers are becoming rare as operators prefer new blood they can bully.
- Dave Flower, Essex, 26/02/2010 10:51
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This particular part of this junction has been an accident waiting to happen, I used to have to cross it, and changed my walking route because of it.
- Daisy Willets, London SW1P, 25/02/2010 14:12
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The comments below are mostly correct in my experiences. The drivers DO have to drive like maniacs to make their time and TFL must stop this practice. Better to get there a little late than not at all. These buses cost more than a house in some streets, but of course they are replaceable, lives are not. Please TFL, can you adjust the timetables so that we can all be safe when travelling by bus, as passengers but also for the drivers, who are trained expertly.
- Rod, Epping, UK, 25/02/2010 02:59
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I witnessed this today. Was about 5 metres away crossing from the other side of the King William St when I heard a loud bang.
One lady was on the ground, she was obviously in shock and had banged her head. No blood wounds. The driver was actually a "she" and she stayed in the cabin for a long time, again in shock. Passengers were lead out the emergency exit at the back of the bus.
I think it was a miracle that no one was killed. The bus crashed into an area where people do stand waiting to cross and also partly straddled the exit from Monument Station. If anyone had been near the top of the stairs when the bus hit I am certain they would not have survived.
- Elliot, London, 24/02/2010 23:38
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Dear Tom, I'll bet you my house it wasn't the bus. In fact, make that my house and car.
Will a week ever go by in London whereby a bus killing / injuring / crashing doesn't occur, along with the associated chaos surrounding the aftermath?
It used to be a pround job working as LT Bus Crew, now look at it.
If you can't find any other job, go drive a bus.
- Gbc, London, 24/02/2010 19:07
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why is it some people always critisize the[ bus drivers and tfl] without knowing any of the facts to accidents or incidents,try travelling in london cab. I travel on many london buses without having any problems .try going to europe and travel on one of their buses ,they have accidents every day. yes this is very tragic and my best wishes are with those injured.
- John London Uk, essex, 24/02/2010 18:58
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My thoughts go out to anyone that was injured in this terrible ACCIDENT
Let me just say, bus drivers driving is periodically checked by the DSA and company officials without the drivers knowledge so they get a true perspective of the standard, if the driving is below the required standard then the driver will be retrained and in some cases dismissed.
I admit you do get a very small number of driver who think there the next Jenson Button, at the same time you get drivers who will drive as they are trained and do give a comfatable and safe ride for there passengers but these are the drivers that get called slow so really bus drivers have no hope of ever satisfying everyone, they have a very stressful job which I dont think the general public understand, they have strict schedules and then the general public who think a bus driver is there for them to abuse (Example is the 149 driver who was spat at and retaliated)I would never go into someones work place and dream of doing some of the things I have seen happen to bus drivers but some people think this is acceptable.
- Steve Matthews, Essex,England, 24/02/2010 18:56
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99% of bus drivers are dangerous, they either pull out from bus stops without indicating or put indicater on when passengers are still getting on, motto is pull out, look, indicate,
- Dave, marylebone, 24/02/2010 18:54
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automatically drivers fault has anyone thought it could be a fault with the bus no days drivers are always having there driving checked by D.S.A. plus D.S.U. and mystery travellers who travel without the drivers knowledge if the don't come up to standard the are re-trained re-tested if the don't pass they can lose there jobs TFL also penalize companies for not keeping up to the time schedules but also refusing to give extra time for these journeys. Its time to start blaming higher up the ladder instead off always blaming the drivers who just want to do there job. Start blaming TFL who are trying to claw back money from thier bad investments and making it hard for the companies and especially drivers who are at the bottom end of the ladder
- Sam, london, 24/02/2010 18:01
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The snails are currently on the 25 and 86 bus routes.
- Joannie, Newham, London, 24/02/2010 17:59
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I see there is no concern for the driver and how it really happened, all usual comments from the self centred sheeplike public looking for a scapegoat, as per usual it is someone who serves the public in good faith.
- Dus Briver, London, Uk, 24/02/2010 17:24
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Having saw the aftermath myself today, the bus was very close to the steps into the entrance of Monument, and would have killed anyone coming out. It is hard to see at that road junction just how the turning was so mis-judged. Generally it is very busy and the buses are forced to slow at this point.
- J Nelhams, London, UK, 24/02/2010 17:03
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The driver had taken two phone calls just prior to the accident.
The first one told him he had been promoted to Bus inspector.
A couple of minutes later another call told him he had in fact been promoted to Garage Manager.
....Then he just careered off the road.
Seriously, I am glad that no-one appears to be to badly hurt,and hope all those that were injured make a full recovery.
- Bill Pitt, Victoria, 24/02/2010 16:48
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Obviously this is a tragic and horrible occurence, and my best wishes are with all of those injured in this accident.
I am however very dissapointed with tfl. There is no information on the website about the diversions. There are about 200 people waiting for buses on the southside of the bridge. It was after an hour of standing there that I noticed the small a4 sign that had been placed at the bus stop alerting commuter to the accident and that many buses will begin thier routes at different stops.
- Angry Commuter, London, 24/02/2010 16:46
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There seem to be two types of London Bus driver - the snail or the F1 Ferrari. Very rarely do I find the professional who knows how to drive at a reasonable speed but still makes it smooth and comfortable for the passangers.
- Peter C-H, London, UK, 24/02/2010 16:43
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some drivers can be bad but what most of the general public doesnt realise is that the the TFL gives them very strict time schedules to get to each stop which in central london traffic is quite hard to meet.
consistent failure to meet the targets leads to warniings and more, so it seems to be they have no choice but to go fast when they can??
- Steve, London, UK, 24/02/2010 16:31
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Could someone explain to me how a double decker bus would manage to career down the steps in to the tube station. Last time I checked a double decker bus was much much larger?
- Raj, London, UK, 24/02/2010 16:23
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The bus would not have fitted into the staircase it's nowhere near wide enough.
- Jacqui Smith'S Dvd Collection!, Hackney, London, 24/02/2010 16:23
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TfL is in the process of removing pedestrian guard rails wherever it can -
Exactly.
Well said Helen.
- Nora Kane, london, 24/02/2010 15:54
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Its still there, looks a mess!
- Kevin Archibald, London, 24/02/2010 14:57
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I frequently travel on london buses and the way some of them drive whilst turning corners is horrendous. They drive extremely fast around the bends.
I just hope that all the people that were injured are not seriously hurt and thank god that the bus did not fall into monument station.
- Mystery, London, 24/02/2010 14:50
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A terrible incident did he skid? Our offices are very close by the bus stop.
- Veronica Graves, london bridge, 24/02/2010 14:31
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TfL is in the process of removing pedestrian guard rails wherever it can - had these guard rails not been present, would the bus have proceeded down the steps?
- Helen, West London, 24/02/2010 14:12
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When are these drivers going to slow down, some of them think they are training for F1, how many pedestrians and passengers need to be killed before anything is done.
- Mike, London, 24/02/2010 14:08
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This is a hybrid double decker built by Wrightbus, who are building Boris Johnson's £11m New Bus For London. I suggest we need to know fast whether it was driver error or a problem with the drivetrain.
- Tom, London, UK, 24/02/2010 14:06
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