Industry news
Sightseeing tour bus company fined
Posted Thu, 23 Feb 2012
A bus company has been fined £10,500 after an engineer repairing one of its fleet had his pelvis and several ribs broken by a falling axle.
The 58-year-old man was working under the bus, which was raised by a vehicle lift control operated by one of the man's colleagues, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard.
The axles of the bus were supported two feet off the floor by wooden blocks, one of which broke, causing the axle to fall on to the man.
The injury caused the employee to be in hospital for two weeks, prevented him for working for six months and left him in pain, the court was told.
The incident occurred while the man was working on an airbag at the bus depot, Ferry Lane, Rainham, Essex, in one of the firms open topped buses.
The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted the company for not preventing the incident, which occurred in October 2009.
The Original London Sightseeing Tour Limited, registered at Admiral Way, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, was fined £10,500 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000 for breaking the Health and Safety at Work etc Act.
Copyright Press Association 2012