That is the message from WorkSafe today, after Ritchies Transport Holdings was sentenced following a Christmas Eve bus crash that left three people dead and 27 more injured.
Today in the Waitakere District Court, the company was convicted and ordered to pay a fine of $210,000, and reparation to 55 passengers totalling $750,000, after one of its buses went through a barrier and fell 30 metres down a bank just south of Gisborne in 2016. The bus had been hired to transport a Tongan brass band who were travelling from Hamilton to Gisborne.
Two passengers died at the scene of the incident, and another died in hospital a few days later. Another passenger’s leg was amputated and some of the 50 surviving passengers suffered injuries including broken wrists, lacerations and bruising.
WorkSafe’s Chief Inspector Investigations Hayden Mander said WorkSafe opened a health and safety investigation after Police investigating the crash and found the bus had not been serviced prior to being hired out.
“Servicing any vehicle is a critical step in protecting safety of the user, and in this case where it was being used to transport a large group of people, it should have been the highest of priorities for Ritchies.
“Ritchies had also failed to provide the driver with any guidance on what to do in the case of a fault. During the journey the driver had told passengers he believed there was something wrong with the brakes.”
“Ritchies should have ensured that there was an adequate and effective safe system of work to ensure that its hired buses were safe.
“Anyone hiring a vehicle should be able to expect the machine meets safety standards and is operationally fit for purpose.
“Ritchies’ failings led to the tragic deaths of three people leaving family and friends to mourn over Christmas. The deaths were needless and easily avoidable had Ritchies met the very simple obligation to service the vehicle and advise the driver how to handle a fault.”
Notes:
- A fine of $210,000 was imposed.
- Reparation of $750,000 was ordered.
- Ritchies Transport Holdings Limited was sentenced under s 36(2), 48(1) and (2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
- Being a PCBU, failed to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health and safety of other persons was not put at risk from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking, namely bus transport services, and that failure exposed those persons to a risk of serious injuries arising from the dry hireage of a Nissan Service Coach.
- S 48(2)(c) carries a maximum penalty of $1,500,000.
- In January 2018 the driver of the bus was sentenced to five-and-a-half month’s home detention, disqualified from driving and ordered to pay reparation after being charged by New Zealand Police in relation to the incident.
