30th anniversary of Hagley minibus tragedy that took the lives of 11 children and their teacher sees parents still calling for improved safety measures
Road safety campaigners fear that lessons are not being learned from past tragedies.
This was brought into stark relief at the weekend with the tragic death of four teenagers near Snowdon last weekend.
Road safety charity Brake have supported proposed legislation that would see new drivers under the age of 25 facing a ban from carrying young passengers in their vehicle as part of a ‘graduated driving licence’ scheme.
Closer to home, this would have had implications for the collision that saw three teenagers from Chipping Campden school killed in April.
And the Herald also believes that more lives will be lost on the A46 around Stratford unless safety improvements are made at hazardous junctions and elsewhere.
We launched a campaign after a young male motorist was killed and five people were seriously injured in separate incidents on the weekend of 13th/14th October on the same spot near Billesley.
So far more than 2,000 people have signed our petition.
Liz and Steve Fitzgerald are horribly familiar with the frustration of not being listened to as they continue a campaign to improve school minibus safety.
Last Saturday (18th November) marks the 30th Anniversary of the M40 Hagley Minibus Disaster, when the Fitzgeralds lost their daughter Claire at 25 minutes past midnight.
Claire was 13 years old at the time and was returning from the Last Night of the Schools' Prom at the Albert Hall.
The minibus she was travelling in with 13 of her friends and their teacher collided with a road maintenance vehicle on the hard shoulder at Junction 15 of the M40. She and 11 of her friends died as a result of that collision. The inquest concluded that the teacher most probably fell asleep at the wheel after teaching, driving and supervising for approximately 16 and a half hours.
In the wake of the tragedy ‘crew’ style buses, with two benches facing each other, were made illegal. And it became mandatory to wear seatbelts on mini buses.
However the Fitzgeralds have repeatedly called for more legal changes, and want legislation passed to ensure only qualified professional drivers are involved in school and college trips.
Mrs Fitzgerlad said: “Steve and I have put in a great deal of research and now believe that the causes of the accident have yet to be addressed, because of that we are now taking action ourselves.”
Last Thursday (16th November) the couple promoted their campaign at Hartshill Hayes country Park, home to the Memorial to Road Traffic Victims in Warwickshire.
They said: "Claire's loss has meant a big hole in our lives, but it has always left us asking questions.”
While he said it was "too late" to look back at what happened now, they wanted change to protect other children on school trips.
At the moment, by law, at the majority of schools, any member of staff who has held a standard driving license for two years is allowed to drive a school minibus.
The NASUWT Teachers’ Union is supporting the call for all schools that use minibuses to be legally required to have an operators' license.
Wayne Bates, from the union, said: "It would bring in restrictions around the length of time somebody could be driving for, and it would introduce far more stringent safety checks."
