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Thursday, October 25, 2012, 14:50

Arriva avoids questions, humour takes over

Arriva today avoided questions on whether there would be compensation for passengers injured in yesterday's three-bus crash in Floriana.

Meanwhile, some people were seeing the lighter side of things, with meme making the rounds on Facebook.

Experts from the Resources Ministry this morning inspected the damage caused to Portes des Bombes after one of the buses crashed into it yesterday.

The bus dislodged a number of stones as it crashed into the structure, but the damage was caused to a flat surface at the back of the gate and can be repaired easily.

Talks will be held with the bus company on funding the costs, a ministry spokesman said.

Arriva did not reply to questions on whether injured passengers would be compensated in any way.

Asked whether it was affected by the buses taken out of service, Arriva said bus services today were operating normally.

"Our primary consideration remains the condition of any person injured, among them our employees. Meanwhile, the cause of the incident remains unknown and we continue to fully cooperate with the Maltese authorities in the investigation. We will comment further on this matter once the facts have been ascertained fully," the company said.

The Arriva spokesman also did not reply to questions on driver training, which many have blamed for yesterday's accident, which took place following a light drizzle.

AUSTIN GATT: DISAPPOINTED BY ARRIVA MANAGEMENT

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Austin Gatt told TVAM this morning that although 75% of people had said in a survey that they were satisfied with the bus service, the government was not satisfied with the management of the company.

He also expressed disappointment wiht the communications function of Arriva Malta.

IN DEFENCE OF DRIVERS

An experienced driver, today jumped to the defence of the drivers involved in yesterday's crash.

Joseph Vassallo told timesofmalta.com that he was on a bus (route 31) at the time the accident happened. 

The road was wet due to a light drizzle a few minutes before.

"Our driver was being extremely cautious because of the dangerous, slippery road conditions.

We passed Portes-des-Bombes and went through the underpass and proceeded down the hill (towards Msida).

"When we came to the bend (where the old Gasan showroom used to be), the bus lost traction at the front and the driver was competent enough to deal with the skid and line up his vehicle again.  But as he continued to manoeuvre the bus round the rest of the bend (the road slopes and cambers unavoidably the wrong way) we lost traction at the rear wheels.  Once again, he countered the skid.

"Being an experienced driver, I understood what the driver was having to deal with and I have to say that he handled it very professionally.  I was so impressed with his performance that I congratulated him when I got off his bus at Bugibba.

"I do not understand why or accept that the drivers of the buses (involved in the accident) are being blamed by nearly all and sundry who have written in to comment on the story about the accident.

"Ours was an Arriva driver too and he handled our predicament faultlessly.  He moreover expected no thanks or recognition for his expertise and was surprised that one of his passengers showed appreciation.

"Somehow, even though I am no regular defender of Arriva or their staff, I feel I should bring this event to your attention so that maybe, just maybe, your readers do not hang and quarter the unfortunate drivers who may have been compelled to take sudden braking or manoeuvring reactions because of other traffic conditions that our driver did not face.

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Pippo de Marco

Oct 26th 2012, 13:03

If the Aygo was a hired, then it was probably on wet weather tyres. Straying off the racing line into the marbles on a hot track wearing 'wets' was just asking for trouble. - If you can hold your nerve and your line going into roundabouts, out-brake any challengers and then steer the straightest line through them without indicating, then you'll soon be driving like a local.

Welcome to Malta

James Dewar

Oct 26th 2012, 17:59

No, accidents are "caused". Do agree about Arriva management though!

Joseph Vassallo, (Bugibba)

Oct 26th 2012, 12:36

Mr Ciarlo'. My perception is that the cause of our driver's skid was the dry scum on the road surface suddenly having a SMALL amount of water sprayed on it, and turning it into slime. It doesn't only happen in Malta. But here, additionally, we have globigerina dust (xaħx) everywhere including on road surfaces, and that too can be as slippery as water-logged diesel particulates.

Joseph Vassallo, (Bugibba)

Oct 26th 2012, 12:41

I can't say that I have seen any NEW buses with worn tyres and I do look (force of habit). Maybe you saw one of the retained old buses (which would still be no excuse).

I was very used to seeing, worn treads, bulging sidewalls and exposed canvas/steel reinforcement on the old (now scrapped) buses though.

Andrew Holland

Oct 26th 2012, 10:16

Presumably he feels it's the best because he is being wafted about in some posh car that soaks up the rough, cratered "road surface" in Malta then, or maybe that he really doesn't get out enough (to other EU countries - hey Gonzo, here's a tip, go and look at Spain or Germany, easily some of the best roads in europe) or, because just like our PM here in the UK, he's woefully out of touch?

Pippo de Marco

Oct 26th 2012, 11:13

@ Andrew Holland

Or maybe our PM is like the Queen ... Only rides on smooth or newly built roads. Either that, or he keeps his eyes and ears closed when the going gets rough. ( And not only on the road :-) )

Joseph Vassallo, (Bugibba)

Oct 26th 2012, 12:53

Mr De Marco... a drizzle is much, much worse than a heavy downpour when we talk about vehicles skidding.

In colder climes, grit is used to give vehicles some traction when temperature drops to frosty or when a drizzle forms black ice. Maybe we should take up gritting too (tongue in cheek, of course, because the solution for Malta is much simpler).

Francis Bellizzi

Oct 26th 2012, 07:32

Passengers being trapped in the doors are the driver`s fault, no one else. If the driver`s excuse is that there is something wrong with the doors than he should have asked for a replacement bus.
Most of the time it`s the driver hurrying the process up to try to maintain a schedule or if he`s late running He`s trying to make time up !.

Joseph Vassallo, (Bugibba)

Oct 26th 2012, 12:59

They used to "borrow" each other's tyres to pass the yearly police inspection and afterwards put the worn-out ones back in service. Do you call that safe?

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 23:19

They crash when trying to keep to their tight schedules. It's a "no win" situation!

Joe Fenech

Oct 26th 2012, 09:00

The Arriva drivers are known to what locally is known as a special licence in a week! That is heresy. Usually it takes over 3 months of thorough training to obtain that.

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:32

Flawed theory and bad advice to the injured parties I suspect.

David Pace

Oct 25th 2012, 22:48

In response to James .......not impractical or flawed if the obvious facts are seriously looked into and NOT ignored !! before taking the investigation further the facts have to be taken into consideration and lack of friction on this road and incorrect cambers are certainly issues hence the numerous quite serious and also fatal accidents on this road, no good covering up facts.

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:08

Totally impractical and unnecessary. I would say that rather than being unlucky or sklilful the drivers were apparently oblivious to or completely ignored the dangers associated with rain on previously dry roads and as a consequence Arriva may find themselves on the receiving end of numerous personal injury claims.

Robin Barman

Oct 25th 2012, 21:20

PCV drivers are no longer trained on skid pans and have not been for years ! What they DO have is, Risk Assessment Program, Hazard Perception, Established Training Departments, Corrective Training, PCO (plain clothed observation) and most importantly YEARS OF EXPERIENCE to fall back on.

David Pace

Oct 25th 2012, 22:33

In response to Robin i was unaware re the skidpans however they certainly do have more than what is offered over here and it does make sense to make available all safety options available to drivers of buses and coaches

David Pace

Oct 25th 2012, 22:42

In response to James its unfair to speculate where the drivers are concerned however what is known is that the road surface has little friction and coupled with the fact that oil and rubber from other vehicles have accumulated over a dry period then a little rain does turn a good road into a skidpan let alone Maltese Roads and in particular this one which also has incorrect cambers.

Francesca Abela

Oct 25th 2012, 21:54

average of 3 accidents a day = around 1000 accidents from arriva per year, and the bus service is still lousy in Marsascala, notably on the 204, the 135, the x5 and the N91 from Paceville.

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:10

Yes, a typical politically correct wooly response to keep enquirers at bay until the furore dies down. Presumably the drivers will be suspended pending the outcome of the enquiry?

George Attard

Oct 25th 2012, 18:36

very true. I cannot say anything bad about Arriva because since coming into service I only needed to use them a handful of times. If I do have one complaint it is from the excessive driving particulary in The Strand and St. Julian's area. I found most of the drivers to be a bit aggressive with the way they manouvere their buses. Other than that I'm not in a position to comment

J jones

Oct 25th 2012, 18:56

Excessive speed by some aggressive drivers next to mqabba playing field also !!!

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:15

The standard of driving by many Arriva drivers is no better (and sometimes worse) than the average Maltese motorist most of whom demonstrate very poor driving standards. The fuss is well justified as these are public service vehicles driven by allegedly well trained "professional" drivers and we have three crashing in the same incident!

Mr Tony Gatt

Oct 25th 2012, 19:08

I was driving yesterday in the rain and cars were still inches from my exhaust. In fact I came across two 'shunts'. People never learn. I am amazed at the number of aggressive drivers here in Malta. If it were as bad in the U.K. where speeds are higher I'd sell my car and use public transport instead.

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:19

Have the Government made their feelings known to Arriva to whom they continue to pay large sums of money? And if so what action do they intend to take? At least it's a start........acknowledgement of dissatisfaction with Arriva management. If the management doesn't function properly what hope for the rest of the organisation and no surprise at the ongoing issues.

David Pace

Oct 25th 2012, 18:30

most tyres on the market will make little difference if there is little or no friction with the road, the road surface is the major problem in Malta besides lack of enforcement of regs, no good in blaming tyres, they work well enough on other European roads, i wouldnt blame the driver especially on that particular strech of road, certainly no need to blame the buses, maybe TM deserves blame here.

A Caruana

Oct 25th 2012, 17:26

I think the people doing the survey did not visit Marsaskala and talk to people waiting for ages on the bus stops for the 135 and the 91 , or our students about the 204 and the N91 from Paceville!

Mr Mike Farrugia

Oct 25th 2012, 17:32

Manipulation of statistics as usual. 75% of what? Is it 75% of the entire population or those using the service? Why aren't more people using public transport if arriva is so good? Why are car sales still booming?

Francesca Abela

Oct 25th 2012, 21:04

Well said Mark Borg and A Caruana, i live in Marsascala and the service here is one of the worst possible, ages waiting for the bus 91 in the morning near Cerviola, then it stops near Grabiel for another 10 minutes, it is a joke that we have a bus every 15 mins, to get to my office at 8am,i have to be on bus stop by 6.15am , otherwise i will not arrive in time.

mark borg

Oct 25th 2012, 17:09

hah ha ha l-anqas nahseb jhekk b xeba filghodu u ohra fil ghaxija, hafna milli kienu fuqa il bierah ma jirnexxielhek terga itellaghhom fuqhom.

GL Calleja

Oct 25th 2012, 16:41

Having ABS on the vehicles in Malta? They do not need ABS because we already have the mobile phones in hand to keep us safe while operating a vehicle. For those curious, ABS stands for Anti Lock braking System. If interested go to Google and Google in "abs braking system" and you can learn all about ABS.

David Pace

Oct 25th 2012, 18:39

ABS is effective in a straight line and helps the driver keep control although increasing the stopping distance, however if the vehicle is totally out of control and slides sideways then ABS is ineffective, on this particular strech of road i would say that the first vehicle lost control due to loss of friction with the road and then the other vehicles followed suit for the same reason.

Joseph Buhagiar

Oct 25th 2012, 21:23

I doubt that any of the buses actually lost total control and slid sideways. In this instance ABS is very effective in controlling an understeer situation.

Francis Bellizzi

Oct 26th 2012, 07:39

It does not matter what equipment the buses have. The driver is in charge of the vehicle. He or she should allways drive to the conditions on the road. That`s traffic and weather conditions. Every driver has a duty of care to all passengers.

A Wood

Oct 25th 2012, 16:41

Standing passengers never move back anyway. The times I have used the bus, I always get on and find 50 people crammed at the front. We have all heard the famous chant by bus drivers, "Move back!" Still, you are correct, and more hand straps need to be in place.

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:34

Sound and practical advice Mark.

mark johnson

Oct 25th 2012, 16:15

Arriva have insurance that covers injuries to passengers. You may need a lawyer to sue them to get damages though.

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:37

Where there is negligence and liability can be established the injured party will have a right to sue for damages. I don't think that Malta will be very much different to the rest of Europe in that respect. Compensation just for the sheer hell of it is a different issue.

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:42

With respect the skid pan is a much larger area on which to master skid control and does not have street furniture, buildings and other vehicles in as close proximity as most bus service routes. Perhaps a more relevant video to ask drivers to watch is one teaching how to avoid inducing a skid in the first place.

Robin Barman

Oct 25th 2012, 23:37

???????????????????? Lets hope they do not watch it. They might want to practice !!!!!

Tony Zammit

Oct 28th 2012, 05:29

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNfNg2mzKDI&feature=related
Sure the old bus drivers could do this.

Justin Borg Saywell

Oct 25th 2012, 17:20

and what did your girlfriend say?

michael sammut

Oct 25th 2012, 20:35

she said she wanted a ring with a diamond as big as that wheel!!

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:45

Might have been more helpful to point out the defective tyres to TM or the Police but telling Arriva would have been about as useful as telling your girlfriend was!

Sean Swain

Oct 26th 2012, 08:56

Fair play to the girlfriend's request :P Thats what I call high maintenance.

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:47

Fairly sure it's not due to tyre quality but driver quality. Would be interesting to have details of the level of training and experience of the drivers involved.

ANTHONY PAVIA

Oct 25th 2012, 16:28

If it were not driver's error, than it would point to lousy suspension maintenance and shoddy tyres. Arriva needs to explain, if it wants the public to have confidence in its vehicles.

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:50

Is this an informed comment or just more of the mass hysteria advice without legal basis? I suspect the latter.

Mr C Galea

Oct 25th 2012, 15:48

agree and further your comments also aplly to many drivers on our roads, many.

Joseph Buhagiar

Oct 25th 2012, 15:53

Are Arriva buses equiped with ABS? This might have come in handy in those conditions.

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:52

Any vehicle can skid if driven inappropriately for the road conditions. More like the drivers in the buses not up to the job than the tyres.

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:55

@ Joseph Buhagiar: Yes I am sure they are but it's different to normal ABS and stands for Arriva Buses Skid!

James Dewar

Oct 25th 2012, 20:58

Alexander, you may well be right to suggest the drivers involved "get back on their feet" as until the full enquiry is completed I don't think they should be driving a bus.

C Cassar

Oct 25th 2012, 15:44

That's because after 50 years of constant breakdowns and accidents, the old wrecks never made the news anymore.

Mr Tony Gatt

Oct 25th 2012, 19:19

I remember one old bus lost a wheel opposite the Marsa Sports Complex once.

R Axisa

Oct 25th 2012, 15:28

Appuntu, ghax karozzi godda kulhadd igerger, ghax hadd ma stenna din is-sitwazzjoni b'karozzi suppost godda.

Terence Zammit

Oct 25th 2012, 15:40

Hmar b biskuttina f halqu nassigurak li xorta ma kienx ikaxkar nofs bieb il bombi miju !!

Stephen Spiteri

Oct 25th 2012, 15:42

U ghax zmien il-buzullotti xi hadd qal li spicca.....L-aqwa li-bic-Chinese Euro V buses - the only place in the world where Arriva operates King Long.....

M camilleri

Oct 25th 2012, 16:17

@Stephen Spiteri

Ghandek tkun taf li il karroza bendy bus hija Mercedes imbaraz Germaniz fdan il kazz..U jekk ma jogbukx laffarijiet Made in China fdak il kass dur dawra ga darek u armi kollox il barra ghax jekk ma ikunx prodot Made in China bxi modd xorta ikollu parts made in China iftah naqra mohhok..

A.f Ellul

Oct 25th 2012, 16:19

Taf x'naf inghid,bil-qodma kont immur kull rahal ta Malta u Ghawdex u bil-Arriva Busses ma nissugrax hajti,darba rkibt u kont ser im-mut bla nifs,kollox maghluq u l-arja kondizzjunata ma kienx hemm,issa ,b'dawn l-accidenti kollha u wahda ohra mdahla go bankiena fi triq il-Belt hal-KIrkop ma smemietx fuq ebda ahbarijietDawk huma ir-riklami veri,li tara b'ghajnejk.Bil-korozza tieghek jaqbillek.
.

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