An independent report commissioned by Brisbane City Council following the tragic death of a pedestrian in March has recommended changes to the health assessment framework for Queensland bus drivers aged over 60.
Police charged 70-year-old bus driver, Lindsay Selby, with careless driving causing death, alleging the bus he was driving mounted the kerb during peak hour traffic in Brisbane’s CBD on 8 March, pinning 18-year-old Ms Cameron against a building.
Ms Cameron died at the scene while four other bus passengers were treated for minor injuries.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads currently requires Heavy Rigid Licence Holders, including bus drivers, to undergo annual medical assessments once aged 75 and over.
The Drivers Skills Monitoring Process Review found Council’s Transport for Brisbane (TfB) continued to meet all the Department of Transport and Main Roads’ safety requirements.
The report also found that Brisbane City Council had met all of its legislative requirements in respect of driver health assessments, safety assurance and risk management processes for drivers.
Ten of Council’s 2,730 bus drivers have been stood down on safety grounds this year because of a poor driving record.
The report’s four key findings were:
1. Transport for Brisbane’s current industrial processes, when properly executed, are likely to be appropriate and valid in respect of discharging duties owed under safety and transport laws.
2. The risk thresholds used in the analyses of Transport for Brisbane’s 2022-2024 accident data are useful indicators for informing further investigations into at-risk driver performance.
3. The risk thresholds should not be relied upon arbitrarily but used as a reference point to inform further performance management strategies as they cannot always account for the wide variety of different casual factors that may be involved in an accident.
4. Future intervention strategies could include:
· psychometric profiling in future recruiting;
· increased health assessment of drivers aged over 60;
· more frequent and regular monitoring of driver behaviours and performance;
· further inclusion of desired low-risk driving behaviours in driver training;
· further use of non-disciplinary measures such as shift and route modifications, while skills development is occurring; and
· although outside of the scope of this report (and likely already in progress), investigation into increased use of technology within vehicles to improve safety outcomes
As a result of the report, Council says it will implement a range of measures to further improve safety above current industry standards, including additional professional development, in-vehicle performance monitoring, and better processes to ensure shift and route match driver skill and experience.
“We promised Tia’s family and the residents of Brisbane that we would undertake an independent review and learn any lessons from this tragedy and that’s exactly what we are doing,” said Civic Cabinet Chair for Transport Councillor, Ryan Murphy.
“This report looked at all the international evidence and how Brisbane’s buses were performing against relevant laws as well as community expectations and it found we were performing well.
“However, the report did recommend regular health assessments for drivers aged over 60 so we have asked the State Government as the regulator to consider this finding.
“As a result of the report’s findings, we will also look at ways we can better utilise technology to monitor and evaluate driver safety on an ongoing basis.”
The average age of a Brisbane City Council bus driver is 52, which is below the Queensland (56) and national (55) average.
Council’s 1260 bus fleet travels more than 70 million kilometres every year and delivers 10,000 services each day.
“The vast majority of our drivers do an incredible job, and we will continue to improve safety standards so Brisbane residents can trust the vital services they deliver,” said Cr Murphy.
