Thursday, November 27, 2008
Five years for causing death by dangerous driving
.
After a very long wait the case concerning Philip Rooney, the driver whose double-decker National Express coach flipped onto its side and skidded along the M4 slip road off the M25 near Heathrow Airport on January 3 last year, has come to a close. The story in the Telegraph reads...
Coach driver 'giving safety talk when he crashed'
A coach driver responsible for a crash which killed three passengers and injured dozens of others was giving a safety talk as he took a corner too fast and lost control, a court heard. Philip Rooney, 49, was speaking over the vehicle's tannoy system while trying to negotiate a 40mph bend at 55mph. Terrified passengers recalled hearing screams and the microphone crackling before the voice stopped.
The double-decker National Express coach flipped onto its side and skidded along the M4 slip road off the M25 near Heathrow Airport on January 3 last year. The damage to the vehicle was so great that many of the 69 passengers on board had to be cut out of the wreckage.
Christina Toner, 76, from Dundee, and 30-year-old Yi Di Lin, a Chinese national, died in the crash, while John Carruthers, 78, of Chertsey, Surrey, died six months later in hospital. A further 65 people were injured, including four who needed amputations and 19 who suffered fractures.
Oxford Crown Court heard how Rooney, from Carluke in Scotland, was driving as though he was "possessed". The father-of-three, who pleaded guilty to three counts of causing death by dangerous driving, was jailed for five years and disqualified from driving for three years.
The court heard that Rooney set off from Victoria bus station in central London, bound for Aberdeen, in the almost new 82-seater vehicle just after 10.30pm. Richard Latham QC, prosecuting, said he consistently broke speed limits as he made his way to the next pick-up point at Heathrow Airport. Luggage fell from the shelf as Rooney took corners too fast and the vehicle clipped a kerb coming into the airport, the court heard. There was a delay of half an hour as Rooney sorted out a problem with the luggage before leaving Heathrow. Mr Latham said: "A number of passengers noted the vehicle was being driven significantly faster, as if the driver was seeking to make up for lost time." One passenger account said: "After Heathrow the driver drove like he was possessed. He kept overtaking everything and going like the clappers."
As the coach made its way towards a bend in the slip road for the M25, it was travelling at 55mph - 15mph above the speed limit - the court heard. The vehicle clipped a barrier and as Rooney tried to steer the right path he lost control, skidding sideways before striking a crash barrier and flipping over. The court was told that a number of passengers recalled that, in the seconds before the crash, the driver had been giving a safety announcement over the public address system.
Rooney, who had been driving coaches for 15 years, had previously been caught speeding in passenger vehicles on five occasions and been disciplined by his employer for tampering with a speed limiter on his vehicle so he could drive faster.
After sentencing, Mrs Toner's daughter Gail Light said she was astonished to hear about Rooney's driving record. She said: "I have been feeling guilty for feeling sorry for the man but the evidence I heard changed my mind on that because of the previous convictions he had for speeding."
...Okay, so that was the outcome of the court case, now what can natural yogurt say about it?
I think that justice has been done and the custodial sentence of 5 years is the right one in this case. On 2nd November 2007 Scott Easton a van driver was jailed for seven years after killing a Tyneside family of four in a crash in North Yorkshire. He had pleaded guilty just like Philip. What was in my opinion incredibly lenient was the case of Anne Foster-Chia , who was jailed for two years after killing an 80-year-old pedestrian while trying to answer her mobile phone. Foster-Chia, who was on her way to collect her disabled son, was seen moments earlier cradling the phone in her neck. She was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and banned from driving for two years. Judge Robert Moore said he would have been more lenient had she accepted her guilt. He said: "You told the police, jury and presumably yourself, and repeated to me that you knocked the phone to the floor. The jury disbelieved you and so do I. " There is no doubt the phone rang. It was your joiner, although you thought it was the school."
The accident happened in Sheffield in December 2005. Michael Slater, prosecuting, told Sheffield Crown Court: "The defendant failed to stop and give way because she was paying more attention to her telephone rather than keeping a proper look-out for the traffic conditions unfolding in front of her."
What was Philip doing driving along at 55mph whilst talking on the microphone? This is the actions of a cowboy. We all know that men cannot multitask and the only time to use the microphone on a coach is when the Park Brake is applied. Also this accident happened a long way from Heathrow airport so it is safe to assume that his safety announcement was one of those weary, long winded speeches that I find a total embarrassment. There are some drivers on the National Express network who drone on and on with the microphone in their so-called safety announcement whilst driving along. As this case proves, this microphone use can become dangerous. All safety announcements should be made whilst stationary, they should be short. Tell the passengers where the coach is going, that seat belts must be worn, the location of emergency exits and the toilet. Anything more is driver vanity. The same applies to coach stops, when parked simply announce the current location.
We all know that most driver announcements are ignored by the passengers. It is not just on coaches but on planes too . If the passengers are not talking amongst themselves, they are listening to personal stereos or droning into mobile phones for minutes on end. However, all National Express coaches display the seat belt pictograms on the windows to inform passengers that they must wear a seat belt.
Luggage is a problem on double decker coaches and National Express have been aware of this for a long time. This is not a problem for the driver because he can bounce the problem to Service Support who will resolve the issue. The terms and conditions clearly states that each passenger can bring 2 medium size suitcases. So the coach departs Heathrow 30 minutes late, it is no big deal. At £7 an hour that means that Philip was looking at another £3.50 in his wage packet. The driver is on the sharp end of the coach and to put your own safety at risk by cornering fast is foolish.
The CCTV images from inside the coach were not made public but I cannot see how anyone could have been killed if they were wearing their seat belt. As I wrote in this blog on 6th January 2007 ...
I do not believe that the deaths and injuries sustained would have happened had all the passengers been wearing their seatbelts. The photographs in the press of the coach show relatively little damage to the outside body of the coach. A broken mirror and windows should not lead to the death of 2 passengers and amputation of limbs.
...So there you have it. I believe that Philip Rooney has caused death by dangerous driving. It was his own fault, he was right to plead guilty and his sentence of 5 years was right. Sadly if all the passengers had warn their seat belts then those deaths and injuries would have been avoided. Looking back at the case of Scott Easton who got 7 years after pleading guilty to killing 4 people, Philip who also pleaded guilty, was given a discount of 2 years because of the seat belt issue. This seems fair in the circumstances and I believe that justice has finally been done.
Remember, you have only one chance to get it right. You can never get the time back and we are all paid by the hour to do the best of a bad job. Always make a safety announcement but only when stationary.
.
After a very long wait the case concerning Philip Rooney, the driver whose double-decker National Express coach flipped onto its side and skidded along the M4 slip road off the M25 near Heathrow Airport on January 3 last year, has come to a close. The story in the Telegraph reads...
Coach driver 'giving safety talk when he crashed'
A coach driver responsible for a crash which killed three passengers and injured dozens of others was giving a safety talk as he took a corner too fast and lost control, a court heard. Philip Rooney, 49, was speaking over the vehicle's tannoy system while trying to negotiate a 40mph bend at 55mph. Terrified passengers recalled hearing screams and the microphone crackling before the voice stopped.
The double-decker National Express coach flipped onto its side and skidded along the M4 slip road off the M25 near Heathrow Airport on January 3 last year. The damage to the vehicle was so great that many of the 69 passengers on board had to be cut out of the wreckage.
Christina Toner, 76, from Dundee, and 30-year-old Yi Di Lin, a Chinese national, died in the crash, while John Carruthers, 78, of Chertsey, Surrey, died six months later in hospital. A further 65 people were injured, including four who needed amputations and 19 who suffered fractures.
Oxford Crown Court heard how Rooney, from Carluke in Scotland, was driving as though he was "possessed". The father-of-three, who pleaded guilty to three counts of causing death by dangerous driving, was jailed for five years and disqualified from driving for three years.
The court heard that Rooney set off from Victoria bus station in central London, bound for Aberdeen, in the almost new 82-seater vehicle just after 10.30pm. Richard Latham QC, prosecuting, said he consistently broke speed limits as he made his way to the next pick-up point at Heathrow Airport. Luggage fell from the shelf as Rooney took corners too fast and the vehicle clipped a kerb coming into the airport, the court heard. There was a delay of half an hour as Rooney sorted out a problem with the luggage before leaving Heathrow. Mr Latham said: "A number of passengers noted the vehicle was being driven significantly faster, as if the driver was seeking to make up for lost time." One passenger account said: "After Heathrow the driver drove like he was possessed. He kept overtaking everything and going like the clappers."
As the coach made its way towards a bend in the slip road for the M25, it was travelling at 55mph - 15mph above the speed limit - the court heard. The vehicle clipped a barrier and as Rooney tried to steer the right path he lost control, skidding sideways before striking a crash barrier and flipping over. The court was told that a number of passengers recalled that, in the seconds before the crash, the driver had been giving a safety announcement over the public address system.
Rooney, who had been driving coaches for 15 years, had previously been caught speeding in passenger vehicles on five occasions and been disciplined by his employer for tampering with a speed limiter on his vehicle so he could drive faster.
After sentencing, Mrs Toner's daughter Gail Light said she was astonished to hear about Rooney's driving record. She said: "I have been feeling guilty for feeling sorry for the man but the evidence I heard changed my mind on that because of the previous convictions he had for speeding."
...Okay, so that was the outcome of the court case, now what can natural yogurt say about it?
I think that justice has been done and the custodial sentence of 5 years is the right one in this case. On 2nd November 2007 Scott Easton a van driver was jailed for seven years after killing a Tyneside family of four in a crash in North Yorkshire. He had pleaded guilty just like Philip. What was in my opinion incredibly lenient was the case of Anne Foster-Chia , who was jailed for two years after killing an 80-year-old pedestrian while trying to answer her mobile phone. Foster-Chia, who was on her way to collect her disabled son, was seen moments earlier cradling the phone in her neck. She was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and banned from driving for two years. Judge Robert Moore said he would have been more lenient had she accepted her guilt. He said: "You told the police, jury and presumably yourself, and repeated to me that you knocked the phone to the floor. The jury disbelieved you and so do I. " There is no doubt the phone rang. It was your joiner, although you thought it was the school."
The accident happened in Sheffield in December 2005. Michael Slater, prosecuting, told Sheffield Crown Court: "The defendant failed to stop and give way because she was paying more attention to her telephone rather than keeping a proper look-out for the traffic conditions unfolding in front of her."
What was Philip doing driving along at 55mph whilst talking on the microphone? This is the actions of a cowboy. We all know that men cannot multitask and the only time to use the microphone on a coach is when the Park Brake is applied. Also this accident happened a long way from Heathrow airport so it is safe to assume that his safety announcement was one of those weary, long winded speeches that I find a total embarrassment. There are some drivers on the National Express network who drone on and on with the microphone in their so-called safety announcement whilst driving along. As this case proves, this microphone use can become dangerous. All safety announcements should be made whilst stationary, they should be short. Tell the passengers where the coach is going, that seat belts must be worn, the location of emergency exits and the toilet. Anything more is driver vanity. The same applies to coach stops, when parked simply announce the current location.
We all know that most driver announcements are ignored by the passengers. It is not just on coaches but on planes too . If the passengers are not talking amongst themselves, they are listening to personal stereos or droning into mobile phones for minutes on end. However, all National Express coaches display the seat belt pictograms on the windows to inform passengers that they must wear a seat belt.
Luggage is a problem on double decker coaches and National Express have been aware of this for a long time. This is not a problem for the driver because he can bounce the problem to Service Support who will resolve the issue. The terms and conditions clearly states that each passenger can bring 2 medium size suitcases. So the coach departs Heathrow 30 minutes late, it is no big deal. At £7 an hour that means that Philip was looking at another £3.50 in his wage packet. The driver is on the sharp end of the coach and to put your own safety at risk by cornering fast is foolish.
The CCTV images from inside the coach were not made public but I cannot see how anyone could have been killed if they were wearing their seat belt. As I wrote in this blog on 6th January 2007 ...
I do not believe that the deaths and injuries sustained would have happened had all the passengers been wearing their seatbelts. The photographs in the press of the coach show relatively little damage to the outside body of the coach. A broken mirror and windows should not lead to the death of 2 passengers and amputation of limbs.
...So there you have it. I believe that Philip Rooney has caused death by dangerous driving. It was his own fault, he was right to plead guilty and his sentence of 5 years was right. Sadly if all the passengers had warn their seat belts then those deaths and injuries would have been avoided. Looking back at the case of Scott Easton who got 7 years after pleading guilty to killing 4 people, Philip who also pleaded guilty, was given a discount of 2 years because of the seat belt issue. This seems fair in the circumstances and I believe that justice has finally been done.
Remember, you have only one chance to get it right. You can never get the time back and we are all paid by the hour to do the best of a bad job. Always make a safety announcement but only when stationary.
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