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Does anyone know what happned to the evening bus that runs from Wick past Ulbster down to Dunbeeth last night. The bus was apparantly stopped at Thrumster by police and it was a good bit later than on the timetable in arriving?
The Driver was taken off by the Police,some one said it was Drink related.
I just want a lover
21-May-06, 22:20
The Driver was taken off by the Police,some one said it was Drink related.
I was on the bus and its not the first time, the driver has been stopped due to drink.:~(
landmarker
21-May-06, 22:26
Let's hope it's the last!
What a dreadful tale of insobriety. These men (in my eyes anyway) have a status akin to airline pilots and should take their jobs seriously.Though their salaries are much smaller, their responsibilities are not a thousand miles dis-similar. Most do have a responsible attitude, though many are miserable down here. I seldom use a bus but I did three weeks as a trainee driver/conductor in 1979.
Bus drivers are an essential part of our community and should be regarded as such. Drunken ones , if this turns out to be the case, have no truck driving busses.
Well let's hope it's his last then, Your life in their hands.:eek: How can anyone abuse their position and threaten the lives of others by getting behind the wheel while intoxicated. Makes my blood boil. :mad:
just wait and see if this is true before you go and blacken someones name bus could be late for many a thing .breakdown or some thing
landmarker
21-May-06, 22:49
just wait and see if this is true before you go and blacken someones name bus could be late for many a thing .breakdown or some thing
Yes you are right.
I only added my comments in response to the posts beforehand, which seemed to suggest a case to answer.
I'm sure you could be right and Chinese whispers often lead people to jump to the wrong conclusion. The man may be well known to some in such a relatively small community. I often forget that, living as I do amongst a million and more. Perhaps three thousand are bus-drivers?
I am sorry if my comments turn out to be unneccessary.
At least, if proven innocent, the driver might be buoyed by my opinion of his social status.
I just want a lover
21-May-06, 22:58
just wait and see if this is true before you go and blacken someones name bus could be late for many a thing .breakdown or some thing
As i said I was on the bus, another employee from Rapsons had to come and collect the bus and take us into Wick, as the driver was in no condition to drive, so yes this is true it did happen.
I am sure Rapsons will be more than happy to issue a statement regarding the matter if contacted.
As i said I was on the bus, another employee from Rapsons had to come and collect the bus and take us into Wick, as the driver was in no condition to drive, so yes this is true it did happen.
I am sure Rapsons will be more than happy to issue a statement regarding the matter if contacted.
Even though i dont think this is the place to discuss this think of the drivers family .
Personally, reading all the posts here I can honestly say I would much rather read about safety issues such as possible drunk drivers working for 'responsible' personnel carrying companies and being alerted rather than reading a section in the obituaries column???
Does anybody know what the bus company is doing about these rumours / truths / allegations?
As for upsetting families: Maybe the Groat and the Courier should stop printing peoples names in the court column to protect upsetting families???
Ice Box - The same could apply to the passengers families. Do drunk drivers ever consider the damage they could do to other families as well as there own? I think not.
changilass
22-May-06, 13:02
Personally, reading all the posts here I can honestly say I would much rather read about safety issues such as possible drunk drivers working for 'responsible' personnel carrying companies and being alerted rather than reading a section in the obituaries column???
Does anybody know what the bus company is doing about these rumours / truths / allegations?
As for upsetting families: Maybe the Groat and the Courier should stop printing peoples names in the court column to protect upsetting families???
Well said, coudn't agree more
The difference is that people whose name have been priinted in The Groat have usually been charged with an offence. This is a rumour about something which may or may not be true, which might or might not have happened as it has been reported and which we should know better than to gossip about on these boards. If it is true and the driver is charged then might be an appropriate time to have a discussion about it. for all we know the driver might have been ill, called to a family emergency or arrested for something else. This gossipy stuff makes me feel uncomfortable - a messsage board isnt the place for it
pultneytooner
22-May-06, 13:17
I was on the bus and its not the first time, the driver has been stopped due to drink.:~( If he was stopped before, due to drink, what happened to him?
Or is this a case of the wick jungle drums getting it wrong again.
As someone once said, 'never let the truth get in the way of a good story'.
postman pat
22-May-06, 16:19
If he was stopped before, due to drink, what happened to him?
Or is this a case of the wick jungle drums getting it wrong again.
As someone once said, 'never let the truth get in the way of a good story'.
Driver was border line on breath test, so got away with it, or so the jungle drums roared!
Stinkysocks
22-May-06, 16:28
There were only two passengers on that bus and I was the other one. I can confirm what I just want a lover has said. I was over half an hour late to work because of it. We were lift sitting for ages, with no explanation of what was happening, nor any word of apology from the actual driver. The replacement driver, whom I cant fault, did make an apology to me for the delay.
I shall be writing a letter of complaint to the company. I just want a lover you are welcome to a copy of my letter and the response, if any arrives.
This gossipy stuff makes me feel uncomfortable - a messsage board isnt the place for it
Having my life and the lives of other passengers and road users put at risk makes me feel slightly uncomfortable.
Driver was border line on breath test, so got away with it, or so the jungle drums roared!
You can only be either above the limit or below the limit. There is no "borderline". If you are below the limit than you have not "got away" with anything because you have committed no offence.
If somebody buys an article in a large shop and a member of staff stops them because the think they haven't paid, if they produce a receipt, do you say they have "got away" with shoplifting?
It rather sounds like the Rumour Mill has shot itself in the foot again. Well done![lol]
I'm sure you could be right and Chinese whispers often lead people to jump to the wrong conclusion. The man may be well known to some in such a relatively small community. I often forget that, living as I do amongst a million and more. Perhaps three thousand are bus-drivers?
The bus driver may well be one of us reading these posts. think about that! he could be reading what everyone is saying. wouldnt that hurt you to read that people are adding arms and legs to a story about you?
I just want a lover
22-May-06, 16:45
I shall be writing a letter of complaint to the company. I just want a lover you are welcome to a copy of my letter and the response, if any arrives.
Having my life and the lives of other passengers and road users put at risk makes me feel slightly uncomfortable.[/quote]
Thanks for the offer, I have been in contact with the head office in Inverness, and look forward to the response also.
Jaws sadly this is not another case for the Caithness rumor mill, this is not a matter to be taking lightly.
I just want a lover
22-May-06, 16:48
The bus driver may well be one of us reading these posts. think about that! he could be reading what everyone is saying. wouldnt that hurt you to read that people are adding arms and legs to a story about you?
Should have he not thought about other people before setting off behind the wheel of the bus, knownly he had had a few.
Should have he not thought about other people before setting off behind the wheel of the bus, knownly he had had a few.
i do not agree with what he did at all but im just saying its a shame if things are being added to it that are not true.
Stinkysocks
22-May-06, 16:53
Glad you've been in touch too. I told you people wouldnt believe us didnt I?
Fortunatly there was no accident. But there could have. I'm sorry if the drivers feelings are hurt by this thread but hes luckly that thats all that was hurt.
connieb19
22-May-06, 17:27
You can only be either above the limit or below the limit. There is no "borderline".There is an inconclusive.:confused
The traffic commissoners are looking into this they are the people who give you your license to drive a bus and they can remove it if they judge you are a unfit person to hold a psv or hgv license. they can remove it without you being charged with any offence.
There is an inconclusive.:confused
If you are over the limit then you are arrested, if you are not arrested then you are not over the limit.
If there is any doubt in the minds of the police then they will arrest you for the simple reason that if they don't and shortly afterwards you are involved in a serious accident then they would be in deep, deep trouble.
I wouldn't think any of them would risk losing their job for a drunk driver.
I just want a lover
22-May-06, 21:36
a very true statement -
www.fife.police.uk/Default.aspx?page=1705 (http://www.fife.police.uk/Default.aspx?page=1705)
Stinkysocks
22-May-06, 22:34
If you are over the limit then you are arrested, if you are not arrested then you are not over the limit.
If there is any doubt in the minds of the police then they will arrest you for the simple reason that if they don't and shortly afterwards you are involved in a serious accident then they would be in deep, deep trouble.
I wouldn't think any of them would risk losing their job for a drunk driver.
No one said he was arrested. He was not allowed to continue driving. The police waited until a replacement driver arrived. That says to me that he was not fit enough to continue to drive.
Although i'm really against people who choose to get behind the wheel of their car whilst intoxicated, bus in this case. How does i want a lover and stinkysocks actually really know the bus driver had been drinking, did you smell alcohol of his breath? for all we know this man may of been ill.
If this is true why was he allowed to drive this distance with passengers, if he had been reported for drink driving would'nt he of been stopped sooner?
I'm not getting at anyone, it's just neither of you have said you smelt alcohol of him. If you did, then why did you stay on the bus.:confused
I just want a lover
23-May-06, 09:38
Although i'm really against people who choose to get behind the wheel of their car whilst intoxicated, bus in this case. How does i want a lover and stinkysocks actually really know the bus driver had been drinking, did you smell alcohol of his breath? for all we know this man may of been ill.
If this is true why was he allowed to drive this distance with passengers, if he had been reported for drink driving would'nt he of been stopped sooner?
I'm not getting at anyone, it's just neither of you have said you smelt alcohol of him. If you did, then why did you stay on the bus.:confused
The smell of drink from the man was over powering, he was reported to the police at 5:45pm, so dont know what took the police so long catching him.
He went from Wick to Dunbeath then Dunbeath to Thrumster where he was then stopped.
The smell of drink from the man was over powering, he was reported to the police at 5:45pm, so dont know what took the police so long catching him.
He went from Wick to Dunbeath then Dunbeath to Thrumster where he was then stopped.
Okay, it's just this was not mentioned in other posts.
Stinkysocks
23-May-06, 16:03
I didnt smell it right away, i've had a cold the last couple of weeks, thus a blocked nose. :cry: But even I smelt it, has we drove. Smell could of come from a passenger hidden further down the bus for all I knew. Also I didn't fancy getting off a bus practically in the middle of nowhere. (We had not yet reached Thrumster.) Especially with no phone.
The traffic commissoners are looking into this they are the people who give you your license to drive a bus and they can remove it if they judge you are a unfit person to hold a psv or hgv license. they can remove it without you being charged with any offence.
it is not the commissoners that deal with your license it is dvla the commissoners deal with company operater license
it is not the commissoners that deal with your license it is dvla the commissoners deal with company operater license
So how come if the commissoners only deal with company operater licences, they stopped me a few years ago and i got 4 charges off of them and i am not a company?
The smell of drink from the man was over powering, he was reported to the police at 5:45pm, so dont know what took the police so long catching him.
He went from Wick to Dunbeath then Dunbeath to Thrumster where he was then stopped.
If you smelt drink of the driver like you said the smell was over powering, why did you get on the bus?
pultneytooner
23-May-06, 22:15
If you smelt drink of the driver like you said the smell was over powering, why did you get on the bus?
Quite sure I wouldn't have.
If you smelt drink of the driver like you said the smell was over powering, why did you get on the bus?Yes krieve good question . i certainly wouldn't of got on if i smelt drink .
Yes krieve good question . i certainly wouldn't of got on if i smelt drink .
You did'nt think this was the place to discuss this!! oh! and i would'nt of got on the bus either.
Iam not discussing it i was just stating a point .
No one said he was arrested. He was not allowed to continue driving. The police waited until a replacement driver arrived. That says to me that he was not fit enough to continue to drive.
If any driver was stopped and was over the limit he would be arrested and taken to the Police Station for the necessary procedures to be carried out there to provide the necessary evidence for a prosecution.
It may well be that the bus company insisted on replacing the driver for their own satisfaction. If the Bus Company say that any driver must not take a bus any further then if the driver did drive it he would be committing the offence of taking a vehicle without consent of the owner and various other associated offences, The same would go for any vehicle driven by someone other than an owner, even a private car.
Under those circumstances the Police would not let him continue driving or they would be aiding him to commit such an offence which would leave them open to Criminal Proceedings themselves. And they certainly ain't going to do that because that really is a "Jobsworth" situation.
The fact that the driver was not allowed to continue does not necessarily reflect on his ability, under the Drink Drive Law, to continue to drive.
Many companies, even those not involved with driving, have a "No Tolerance Police" to both alcohol and drugs. In that case somebody could be well below the Drink Drive limit and still be in serious trouble with his employers, even somebody working in an office or a factory.
But that again, like much else suggested, is nothing more than conjecture. That does not negate what people saw happen, only the interpretation of the reason for it.
As the old saying goes Innocent until proven guilty .
Stinkysocks
24-May-06, 07:32
I have been on buses before were the smell of a drunk at the back fills the entire bus. But frankly I dont expect my driver to be drunk, so when i'm getting on its the last thing on my mind. But in caithness drunk bus drivers dont really bother people. It seems they worry about the drivers feelings and find fault with the passengers. The police drive out to give health checks. Perhaps if there had been an accident you'd be blaming the other car, the small dead child in the back seat. God forbid you put any blame the drivers way.
I just want a lover
24-May-06, 09:49
If you smelt drink of the driver like you said the smell was over powering, why did you get on the bus?
As the bus that I was on was provided by Dounreay to take employees home, but when I got off the bus, I reported the driver.
Stinky Socks
No one is saying its acceptable for a bus driver to be drunk or that its not right for the police to stop the bus. What i feel isnt right is that the details should be gossiped about on a message baord when we have no idea whether the driver was really drunk, whether the police arrested and charged him or whether it was discovered it was something else entirely. What you have in this thread is an opinion. I was appalled when someone posted a question about someone elses personal circumstances last week, I was as uncomfortable with that as i am uncomfortable with this. Had the thread been about whether bus drivers should drive buses under the influence of drink or drugs you would have had a resounding "no" but it wasnt. Coachman said "someone said it was drink related" thats just gossip to my mind and shouldnt be here because it might not be true.
changilass
24-May-06, 11:05
It is not as if the driver has been named, so not too sure what you are so worried about. Even if it comes out that it was all just gosip, it has at least alerted us all to be more wary of who is driving the transport we are using, be it public or private.
You can only be either above the limit or below the limit. There is no "borderline". If you are below the limit than you have not "got away" with anything because you have committed no offence.
If somebody buys an article in a large shop and a member of staff stops them because the think they haven't paid, if they produce a receipt, do you say they have "got away" with shoplifting?
It rather sounds like the Rumour Mill has shot itself in the foot again. Well done![lol]
You should not drink ANY alcohol before or during your duty as a PSV driver.
The Traffic Commissioner has authority to withdraw your PSV Licence without reference to a Magistrate/Sheriff.
If you are under the driving limit, and the Police to not inform the TC then you have got away with it. (That is assuming there was some sort of reading.
If you are sure of the fact that a PCV/LGV Driver Has consummed Alcohol - then you can contact the Traffic Area Office and advise them. They are duty bound to investigate and take appropriate action.
As the bus that I was on was provided by Dounreay to take employees home, but when I got off the bus, I reported the driver.
Does it matter If the bus had been provided by dounreay if the smell of drink was so strong like you say why get on the bus ? I know for sure that i would'nt have!
Does it matter If the bus had been provided by dounreay if the smell of drink was so strong like you say why get on the bus ? I know for sure that i would'nt have!
Unfortunately - some people have no choice but to use the bus service.
So how come if the commissoners only deal with company operater licences, they stopped me a few years ago and i got 4 charges off of them and i am not a company?
was your charges to do with red diesel, taco hours or overloading they do not get involved with drivers smelling of drink
Unfortunately - some people have no choice but to use the bus service.
Off course you have a choice to get on or get straight back off when you can smell drink on the driver! It's your choice!!!!
You should not drink ANY alcohol before or during your duty as a PSV driver.
The Traffic Commissioner has authority to withdraw your PSV Licence without reference to a Magistrate/Sheriff.
If you are under the driving limit, and the Police to not inform the TC then you have got away with it. (That is assuming there was some sort of reading.
If you are sure of the fact that a PCV/LGV Driver Has consummed Alcohol - then you can contact the Traffic Area Office and advise them. They are duty bound to investigate and take appropriate action.
I quite agree with what you say. The Traffic Commissioners can, once informed, remove the PSV License but that does not mean that the driver is over the limit which would prevent him driving another type of vehicle.
The limit for drink driving is set at an absolute, you are either under or over the limit. If you are over the limit under the Road Traffic Act then there is a set procedure as to what has to be done in order to secure a prosecution and if that is not followed then it is highly likely that any subsequent prosecution would be thrown out.
It is one of those cases where the difference between being under and being over is set in stone until such time as the limit is changed. Literally, one mouthful can make the difference.
In view of what you say I would imagine that, at that time of night, the Company would have been informed and that what followed was an action taken by them in order that they too did not have problems with the Commissioners. I would imagine that if they did not do so then they would be putting the Company at risk also because I wouldn't think the Commissioners would be at all happy with them at all.
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