Statistics show seven bus-related deaths have occurred in Victoria in the past three years
By Sean Muir | August 16, 2012
There have been seven bus-related deaths in Victoria in the past three years, with three fatalities reported in the first
half of 2012 alone, according to state government statistics.
Transport Safety Victoria’s (TSV) quarterly incident statistics, released this week, show collisions
were responsible for the two most recent fatalities.
The first incident involved a 72-year-old woman who reportedly crashed her Holden Barina sedan into the rear of a stationary bus in Dandenong on April 16.
The woman died at the scene.
The second incident involved a young man who died shortly after he was allegedly hit by a bus as it pulled away at Bonbeach on May 5.
TSV reports
one person also died in Victoria due to a bus security and safety issue in the first quarter of 2012, bringing the 2012 death toll to three,
compared
to
four
deaths in 2010 and 2011 combined.
The statistics show bus incidents have seriously injured 153 people in Victoria in the past three years, with 27 people reported as
injured in the first half of 2012.
Serious injuries, defined as requiring immediate treatment at a hospital, were suffered by 46 people in the second half of 2011, 34 people in the first half of 2011, 24 people in the second half of 2010, and 22 people in the first half of 2010.
Last week, a school bus from St Anthony’s Coptic Orthodox College crashed into a stationary bus in Melbourne’s south-east, injuring five students.
The
students were treated at the scene and two of them were taken to hospital after the
bus crash on the Frankston-Dandenong Road at Carrum Downs.
Accredited and registered bus operators in Victoria are required to report certain types of transport incidents to TSV under the Bus Safety Act 2009 (Vic).