Court / Bus driver fined after taking bairns home in vehicle with door open

A BUS driver who was filmed driving 10 children home with a passenger door forced open has been fined at Lerwick Sheriff Court.

Brydone Williamson, 58, was driving pupils home from Brae High School to areas such as Urafirth, Hillswick and Eshaness on 10 March this year when the nearside passenger door opened.

Because of the safety mechanism on the mini-bus, the vehicle automatically stopped and it would not start up again.

Williamson phoned his bus company for advice and the-then health and safety manager advised him how to disable the feature, allowing him to drive the bus but with the door open.

Lerwick Sheriff Court heard Williamson made the decision to ensure the bairns made it home instead of being stuck in Urafirth, with a mechanic possibly having to travel all the way from Lerwick to try fix the door.

However some children filmed the incident and reported it to their parents, some of whom were said to have been “concerned” when they saw the vehicle drive by with an open door.

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Williamson, from Lower Voe, admitted to driving the mini-bus culpably and recklessly, and at excessive speed, with the door open during the incident.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie told the court the door was similar to that of a sliding door on a transit van.

He said the manner of Williamson’s driving had concerned some of the pupils onboard, and that he had not moderated his speed despite the door being wedged open.

“Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing, but it was a poor decision to make,” he said.

However the fiscal admitted Williamson had been given some “questionable advice” by the health and safety manager, who had told him how to override the safety feature and drive with the door open.

“But at the end of the day, he was the driver,” Mackenzie added.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said the mini-bus was essentially stuck in Urafirth when the door became stuck open, and Williamson had made the decision to try get all of the bairns home.

“He didn’t do it with a view to putting them in any danger,” the solicitor said.

“He did it with the best of intentions to simply get the children home. This was a decision made in good faith.”

Allan said the video from the back of the bus showed the pupils wearing seatbelts, and sitting far away from the open door.

And he said Williamson was never made aware that any children were “distressed” or concerned by his driving.

He suggested that it was a case of the children being “excited” by something different happening and choosing to video it on their phones.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank fined Williamson £400.