The driver of school bus which had its roof ripped off when he drove under a railway bridge has been suspended.
The 49-year-old was held on suspicion of drink-driving and dangerous driving after the incident in Station Road, Langley, Slough, on Wednesday.
It led to rail delays between London and Reading.
The driver, who was travelling from Iver in Buckinghamshire, has been bailed by police and suspended by Buckinghamshire County Council.
In a statement, the authority said: "We can confirm the driver has been suspended from his duties pending further investigations. The driver was arrested and this has now become a police matter on which we cannot comment further."
The driver was the only person on board and was not injured.
Police said there was no structural damage to the bridge and the road was reopened after several hours.

Jenny Mulholland, landlady of the nearby Willow Tree pub, said: "I just happened to look out the window and saw a bus with no roof and thought, 'that's a sight you don't see very often'."

Drink-driving charge for Slough bridge crash bus driver

The driver of a school bus which had its roof ripped off when it hit a railway bridge has been charged with drink-driving and dangerous driving. Gurdeep Sagoo was travelling from Chalfont in Buckinghamshire when the bus hit the bridge in Station Road, Langley, Slough, on 12 May.

The 49-year-old, from Southwell, Middlesex, was bailed to appear before magistrates in Maidenhead on 26 July.

He was suspended by Buckinghamshire County Council pending the case.

Mr Sagoo was the only person on board and was not hurt.

Drunk school bus driver who sliced roof off double-decker avoids jail

A school bus driver who sliced off the roof of his double-decker as he tried to squeeze under a railway bridge while drunk has narrowly avoided going to jail. Gurdeep Singh Sagoo was three times over the drink-drive limit when he 'forgot' he was driving a double-decker. He had earlier dropped off 46 college students.

The accident in Langley, Berkshire, led to the main rail line between London and the West being closed and a bill of ^250,000 being handed to the coach company by Network Rail for 180 cancelled services.
 
At Reading Crown Court, a judge criticised him as 'thoughtless' and the college principal said it was a miracle that nobody had been hurt.

Sagoo, 49, had earlier admitted dangerous driving and driving while over the legal alcohol limit.
 
Joanne Belsey, prosecuting, told the hearing that on May 12 he collected the students from Chalfonts Community College in Gerrards Cross and drove the normal route. After dropping off all his passengers, he approached the bridge.
 
'The bridge was 12ft 9in high, and this was clearly signposted along with a number of yellow and black chevrons around it,' she said. 'The defendant drove through the bridge and the collision took place, removing the top section of the bus.'
 
Sagoo called police, who breathalysed him and found he had 97mg of alcohol in his breath, nearly three times the limit. He told police he had forgotten he was driving the double-decker as he usually drove a single-decker along the route. He also said that he had been drinking the night before with friends who were visiting from Canada, which he admitted was an 'error'.

Rachel Adams, defending, said her client was now jobless and cared for his elderly mother.

Sentencing, Judge Gordon Risius said Sagoo's driving was 'thoughtless' rather than reckless. He gave Sagoo, of Southall, west London, an eight- month jail term suspended for two years. He also ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and banned him from driving for two years.

A spokesman for Sagoo's former employer, Imperial coaches, said: 'It was a complete shock. Mr Sagoo had been working for us since January and was a good employee.'

Sue Tanner, headteacher of the college, said: 'All I could think was that it is a miracle that no children were hurt. Parents expect to have confidence in drivers who are taking responsibility for their children.'

A double decker bus has had its roof ripped off after crashing into a railway bridge in Edinburgh.

The driver of the Club Class bus is understood to have misjudged the height of the bridge in Roseburn Street, Murrayfield, at about 1420 GMT.

One passenger on the top deck was thrown downstairs when the bus hit the bridge. There were also three passengers sitting downstairs.

Lothian and Borders Police said the road would be closed until 1700 GMT.

The passenger who was sitting upstairs only received minor injuries.

The roof of a double decker bus which was carrying passengers was ripped off after it went under a low level railway bridge in Cheshire.



Ambulance crews attended but police said no-one was seriously injured in the crash which took place on Silk Road, Macclesfield, at about 1730 GMT.

The road was closed between Buxton Road and Sunderland Street and rail services through the area have been disrupted.

An investigation is under way into why the bus was travelling on the route.

... a prominent sticker above the driving position ...

A double-decker bus struck a tree and lost its roof in Bristol injuring 18 people, seven of whom were taken to hospital.

Crews were called to Fishponds Road following the accident involving the 342 service just after 07:40 BST.

Great Western Ambulance Service said those injured mainly had head injuries, but none was seriously hurt.

The busy road was closed for several hours but reopened just before 12:00 BST.

Operator First Bus confirmed one of its fleet had been involved in the incident.



'Loud bang'

"The top of the double-decker bus was in collision with some tree branches which were hanging over the road," a First Bus spokeswoman said. "The bus was in service at the time, with a number of passengers on board. Our teams are on the scene and are working with the relevant authorities to determine exactly what has happened. Our thoughts are currently with those people who were on the bus at the time of the incident and their friends and family."

Jonathan Pomeyie, who lives nearby, said he had been at the back of his house making a cup of tea when he heard a loud bang.

"It was a very deep impact type of sound, like an explosion. At first I wasn't too sure what it was. I [later] got a phone call from one of my friends who said there had been a bus accident so I looked out of a window to see if there were any delays to the traffic. I saw police, paramedics and firemen everywhere. It was a horrid and unbelievable sight to wake up to."

The irony being that First do not actually own this bus.
It was on loan from Volvo to cover for warranty work on the existing Volvo's!

It was actually V registration - V124LGC if my memory serves me correctly.
It first entered service in 1999 with Go-Ahead London and has recently been replaced by newer vehicles.

A spokesman from First Bus told the paper: "The exact cause of the incident is not yet known. ...

This incident thee driver has done quite a good job of taking it off cleanly!

Colne Community School pupils tell of bus crash scare

An Essex schoolgirl has told how she heard a "big crash" and "scraping of metal" as the roof of her school bus was ripped open by a passing tractor.



Georgia Cowie was one of 45 pupils from Colne Community School who were on the double decker bus when it was hit by a tree trimmer in Wivenhoe on Thursday. Four children were treated for minor injuries following the crash.

Georgia said: "It took me until I got back to school until I realised that everything was OK."

Paramedics compared the cut to the bus to that of a "can opener".

Connah Dykes, who was sitting at the back of the bus, said he called the paramedics. "My dad's a fireman so I instantly thought that if someone was hurt we're going to need help," he said. "I'm quite proud but it's something anyone would do in those circumstances."

Judy Wakeling, vice principal of the school in Brightlingsea, said the crash was her "absolute worst nightmare". "We are truly thankful there weren't any more serious injuries," she said.

The Essex County Council-contracted bus was on its way to the Brightlingsea school when the accident happened. It is thought the tractor had its trimmer facing forwards and was moving towards the road when the accident happened. Essex Police said it was not investigating the accident.

Bus has roof torn off in Hampshire railway bridge crash

The roof of a double-decker bus was ripped off when the bus got stuck under a railway bridge in Hampshire. The out-of-service bus hit the railway bridge in Station Road in Portchester at about 09:40 GMT. Fire crews said the bus and its roof were left on opposite sides of the bridge. The bus driver, a 45-year-old man, was treated at the scene for shock.



Another bus run by operator First Group was involved in a similar crash at the same spot almost five months ago.

Police and about 15 firefighters were called to the scene.

A crane is to be used to remove the top of the bus from the bridge, where it had become stuck.

'Severe shock'

Paul Coates, Fareham station manager, said: "The top of the double-decker bus stayed there and the rest of it went through. We closed the road and made the scene safe, and gave first aid to the driver until the ambulance arrived. We gave him oxygen because he was quite in shock when we arrived."

A spokeswoman for Hampshire Constabulary said: "Nobody was on the bus but the driver - it was out of service at the time. The driver was in severe shock and was treated by ambulance crews at the scene."



Experts from Network Rail were called to assess the scene and the road was shut for about three hours.

Operator First Group said it was investigating the incident.

A spokeswoman said: "We are as concerned by this incident as we suspect other local people will be. The exact cause of it is being investigated and the appropriate action will be taken as a result. It is too early to speculate as to what the outcome of the investigation will be. In relation to the previous incident, the cause of that was determined to be human error and the appropriate action was taken as a result."

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "When road vehicles strike railway bridges, it can cause damage, delay and cost to the railway. Thankfully, owing to sturdy engineering by the Victorians, rarely is the damage significant but we have to send an engineer to site to inspect and often we have to delay or even stop trains until this has been done."

Same make of bus as last time as well - Volvo Olympian - although slightly different body style.

News item from the Daily Mail about previous 'conversion' at the same location: http://tinyurl.com/cnehg8v

Both incidents involved Volvo Olympians with Northern Counties Palatine bodies, although the first one had dual doors. Both buses are from the same First in Hampshire & Dorset depot - Hilsea.

Well if its repaired first cymru need a new open topper to replace Bristol VR MOD571P which is now in preservation and so wont be operating the Swansea open top bus service this summer.

Bus has roof torn off in Hampshire railway bridge crash


A spokeswoman said: "... The exact cause of it is being investigated "

I'm interested as to what reminders bus drivers may be given about 'low bridges on your new route' if their duties are changed at such short notice?

As Chris from Nailsea will know well, we have had a double-decker conversion under the low bridge at Nailsea and Backwell Station and that was with a driver 'off route' coming from/to the depot (can't remember which the other bus driver told me), so no specific warning would have been given.

Investigation launched after double-decker railway smash

Bus bosses are investigating after a double-decker smashed into a railway bridge last week.

A dog-walker who was half a mile away said he heard an "almighty crash" as the top deck crumpled outside Kearsney railway station.


DECKED: A bus has its top knocked off after crashing into a rail bridge Picture by Stephen Davies

Police were called to deal with the ensuing traffic chaos as the Alkham Valley Road was closed during Thursday morning rush hour.

Stephen Davies was walking his lurcher, Gracie, in Kearsney Abbey at around 8.45am when they were both startled by "a big, loud, metallic bang".

The owner of The Accommodation Shop, in Dover, said: "I thought 'Oh, that doesn't sound good'."

The road was blocked by the wreckage when Mr Davies tried to drive back to Dover. He said: "I got out of the car and had a stroll up. He'd taken half the roof off. Someone would have been seriously injured if there were punters on board."

A spokesman for Kent Police said the "shaken" bus driver was breathalysed but recorded a negative result.

The driver of the number 15 bus had taken a wrong turning on the way to the start of the day's service on February 28. He took the 15b single-decker route, which passes under the rail bridge. The 15 should remain on London Road rather than turning off at Crabble Road on the way to Deal or Canterbury.

A spokesman for Stagecoach described the damage to the bus as "significant" and said: "Safety is our top priority and we have launched an investigation into the incident."

Stagecoach refused to comment on whether any disciplinary action was being taken against the driver.

The Southeastern rail service to London Victoria returned to normal speed at 10.20am after inspectors found no faults or structural damage to the bridge at Kearsney.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: "The low headroom sign needs to be replaced."

Chelmsford bus has roof shorn off under bridge


The crash affected rail services which use the bridge

A double-decker bus had its roof completely shorn off when it hit a railway bridge in Essex.

The Regal Busways bus struck the bridge in Duke Street, Chelmsford, at 16:30 BST on Thursday.

Essex Police said officers attended, along with an ambulance, but nobody was injured. The road was closed for a time but opened shortly after.

Essex Fire and Rescue said its firefighters attended the scene but took no action.

Greater Anglia train services were disrupted for a short time but have since returned to normal.

Nice to see an Alexander ALX400 Dennis Trident having been scalped for a change.

Makes a change from a Northern Counties Palatine Volvo Olympian. 

Can't quite fathom why the picture that accompanies the article has had the operator name/logo pixelated though. The BBC tell us it is Regal Busways. Why censor the image?

Rail bridge rips top off school bus near Dalry


No children were on board when the incident took place

A school bus has had its roof ripped off after passing under a railway bridge in North Ayrshire. No school children were on board the double-decker when the incident took place on the A737, near Dalry, at about 07:35 on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said the driver of the bus was not injured. She said the road was closed until 09:20 to allow for the damaged bus to be removed and a clean-up operation to be completed.

Westbourne mechanic gets bus wedged under bridge


Yellow Buses said the vehicle was not using one of its usual routes

A mechanic has been suspended after taking a double-decker bus for a test drive and getting it wedged under a railway bridge.

Traffic had to be diverted for more than an hour while the tyres were deflated and the bus recovered, in Prince of Wales Road, Westbourne.

No passengers were on board and the driver was unhurt.

Yellow Buses said the vehicle was on a road test on Thursday and was not using one of its usual routes.

Jenni Wilkinson, head of marketing, said: "The bus involved was not in service. An engineer has been suspended while an internal investigation is carried out."

A structural engineer assessed the bridge but rail services were unaffected.

Michael Waylett, from Westbourne, spotted the bus as he walked past the scene. He said: "It's obviously a bit of a silly thing to do. It doesn't make any sense to bring it down there. It's not a bus route so I don't know what it was doing, so it now makes sense that it was on a road test."

Investigation underway into Harpenden railway bus crash



An investigation is underway after a double-decker bus crashed into a railway bridge in Harpenden this morning.

A spokesman for Uno confirmed they would be speaking to the driver as to why he was covering the wrong route, which caused the roof of the bus to be ripped off after it smashed into the railway bridge in Station Road at 8.30am this morning.

The bus has now been removed and the road has been reopened. There were no injuries as a result of the incident and the bus was empty at the time

A bus has been damaged after taking a wrong turn and hitting a railway bridge in south-west London.

The 131 double-decker bus was out of service when the collision happened at 13:00 GMT on Coombe Road in Kingston.

Transport for London (TfL) said there were no passengers on board the bus and no reported injuries.

Alex Whitman, who saw the aftermath of the crash, said: "I was quite shocked. It's one of those things you don't expect to see."

Mike Weston, TfL's Director of Buses, said: "The bridge was not damaged and rail services are unaffected.

"There were no injuries and the incident will be fully investigated."

The road has been closed in both directions.

I'd give that a seven out of ten.

This latest one just doesn't have the pure artistry of a complete removal of the roof in one piece: nor does it have the result of the upper floor seats all being left apparently unscathed.

For my favourite contender, to date, see http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=6748.msg132997#msg132997 

A double decker bus has collided with a bridge in Hyde Lane, Cheltenham, this morning.
 
The road is blocked in both directions and police are on the scene.
 
The bridge is close to the junction with Wymans Lane and Church Road.
 
Philip Green, who lives in Hyde Lane, was walking his dog and was under the bridge when the accident happened.
 
The Swanbrook bus was driving from Swindon Village towards Bishop's Cleeve and it hit the brudge,
 
The top of the bus was sliced off in the crash.
 
Mr Greensaid: "It showered me with debris. It could have killed me. I've never walked so close to death. I escaped death by inches."
 
Mr Green was taken to hospital by paramedics.
 
There are two ambulance, two police cars at the scene and the road remains closed.
 
A shaken Harriet Tweddle, said: "I was standing waiting for the bus. I saw the bus come down and I thought he's not going to make it. There was a hell of a noise and I ran over to see if anyone was hurt.
 
"It was only the driver. He was shaken and rather embarrassed and I stayed with Philip."
 
Richard Webb, 23, said: "The bus driver said he forgot it was a single-decker."

Another one - this time near Cheltenham.

From the Gloucestershire Echo

Also, what's a 'brudge'? 

..and I was going to commend the Gloucestershire Echo for getting the story on line, with a picture, within an hour of it happening.   Perhaps I won't now.

I was once chastised for putting out a story about an accident involving "a concrete lorry" when it should have been "a lorry carrying concrete".

Isn't it odd how a short item like that can contain a whole miniature detective puzzle.

Take the final quote - "The bus driver said he forgot it was a single-decker."

Not at all stuving.  As a journalist (although never in local newspapers), I'm one of the first to criticise poor writing.  I was once chastised for putting out a story about an accident involving "a concrete lorry" when it should have been "a lorry carrying concrete". 

Likewise, you shouldn't talk about "bus shelters" - they are of course "bus passenger shelters".

Cheltenham bus roof ripped off in bridge crash


The crash on Hyde Lane happened at 07:10 GMT

A double-decker bus has had its roof completely ripped off after being driven under a bridge in Cheltenham.

No passengers were on board the vehicle and the driver escaped uninjured from the crash which happened at 07:10 GMT.

As a result, Hyde Lane has been shut in both directions and will remain closed until debris has been cleared away.

The bus operator Swanbrook runs several services throughout the county, including commercial ventures and special services for schools.


There were no passengers on board the Swanbrook bus

I assume they missed the word "not"

Residents in the area said that it was quite a common experience to hear vehicles strike the bridge.

Jane Smith, who lives right next door to the bridge said: "I heard the bang this morning, but I didn't look out. I hear something hitting the bridge all the time, and I just think "there's another one." It's not a rare occurrence at all."^

And another one out of gauge ... this time colliding with a railway station

http://metro.co.uk/2014/04/28/ukip-campaign-bus-collides-with-portsmouth-station-as-party-begins-election-campaign-4711694/?

And another one out of gauge ... this time colliding with a railway station

http://metro.co.uk/2014/04/28/ukip-campaign-bus-collides-with-portsmouth-station-as-party-begins-election-campaign-4711694/?

I believe there are EU regs concerning double-decker buses.  I wonder if any of the hirers had access to them?

The roof of a bus has been ripped off after it hit overhanging trees in central London.

The number 91 bus hit the trees on Kingsway, near the London School of Economics (LSE) building, in Holborn.

London Ambulance Service said two people were taken to hospital with facial injuries. Two others were treated for minor injuries.

Kingsway has been closed between the Great Queen Street and A4 Aldwych junctions.


At the scene, London Fire Brigade station manager, Gary Squires, said: "Those involved were very lucky to escape serious injury."

LSE student Ethan Meade said he turned around when he heard a crash.

"I saw the roof fall down off the side of the bus and the glass shatter everywhere.

"The passengers seemed to be sitting there pretty stunned, as you'd expect. Police seemed to handle it very well."

A BUS got stuck under the bridge near Taunton Railway Station this morning.



Mike Hollin took this picture of the stricken Buses of Somerset number 21 bus shortly before 7am.

According to reports from passers-by, the driver managed to free the vehicle a short time later.

Believe it or not, it^s not the first time this has happened ^ see here.

London bus roof torn off after it hits trees

The roof of a bus has been ripped off after it hit overhanging trees in central London.

next!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/london-doubledecker-bus-has-entire-roof-ripped-off-by-railway-bridge-10108592.html

Noting that it's hardly obvious from the bridge (in the background of the photos) that it's low  !!

Roof ripped off Thorpe Park-bound school trip bus


The double-decker had been carrying 76 pupils on an end-of-term theme park trip

Eleven passengers have been taken to hospital after the top deck of a school bus was ripped off when it hit a railway bridge.

The double-decker had been carrying 76 pupils on an end-of-term theme park trip when it reportedly took a wrong turn in Staines, Surrey. It had been due to take the children to Thorpe Park, in Chertsey, when it crashed about two miles away.

None of the children on board the bus were seriously injured. However, South East Coast Ambulance Service reported one person with a suspected back injury and a further 10 with minor injuries were taken to local hospitals. A further 58 passengers were assessed and treated at the scene.

The bus had been carrying pupils from St John's School in Epping, Essex. A statement on the school's website said the trip had been a reward for pupils awarded a high number of house points.


The roof of the bus was left on the road behind the bridge

"We have spoken to a number of staff and we are able to confirm that there are no serious injuries although some students may have suffered some cuts and bruises," it said.

Reports of the crash, at the junction of Riverside Drive and Chertsey Lane, were first received just after 10:00 GMT, The road is expected to remain closed for a significant period of time and motorists have been advised to avoid the area if possible.

Bus owner Galleon Travel said it was arranging for return travel to the school for some children, while some parents had already collected pupils.


Surrey Police said the road was expected to be closed for some time

Not the first time UKIP have had problems with modes of transport.  Remember Election Day 2010?  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/northamptonshire/8664260.stm

From the BBC:

In the interests of continuity, this one now looks like this, and lives in Cornwall. It is intended for the new Falmouth Open Top service. Seen at Penzance running day.

V124LGC by Rich.W., on Flickr