A careless driver who caused a school bus to crash through a wall has been spared a roads ban so that he can keep his job.
Around 20 Alford Academy pupils were on the single-decker coach when Martin Coutts tried to overtake it but instead crashed into an oncoming car.
Coutts’ grey Volkswagen Golf rebounded into the path of the Watermill Coaches vehicle and was pushed along the road, through a drystone dyke and ended up lodged under the bus.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told the collision happened at around 3.50pm on February 7 last year as the coach dropped pupils off at various points along the A944 Alford-to-Westhill road.
Coach was carrying pupils home
Fiscal depute Kirsty Martin said Coutts, 40, tried to overtake the bus about 10 minutes into its usual route and as it was nearing Millbank.
After pulling out he came face to face with a silver Volvo V40 coming in the opposite direction.
“The Volvo driver tried to steer to the left but had no time to react and the collision occurred,” Miss Martin said.
“Due to the heavy impact, the Golf rebounded off the Volvo and collided with something. The coach driver heard a loud bang then the car collided with the coach.
“This resulted in the coach pushing the car along the carriageway before both collided with a drystone dyke.
“On coming to a stop, the coach driver observed the car was on its side and appeared to be lodged under the front of the coach.”
Bus and car wound up in field
Coutts was taken to hospital for treatment and others involved received treatment from medics at the scene.
The father-of-one was overheard saying that he feared the crash had been his fault. A police appeal for witnesses was later the same day.
Coutts, a bricklayer, was initially charged with dangerous driving but pled guilty to a reduced charge of driving carelessly.
His defence agent Ian Woodward-Nutt his client had been “emotional” and upset about the crash being his fault during their consultations.
“He saw the bus and looking ahead beyond it he thought it was safe to overtake and the carriageway was clear of traffic,” the solicitor said.
“He had the impression he had a full view and it was only after he was committed to the overtake he became aware he was wrong.
“Oncoming traffic was obscured by a shallow dip in the road and roadside vegetation. There are no warning signs on the road of that bend nor is there no solid white line.”
He said Coutts had been working in Alford long-term and travelled there daily from Aberdeen.
“He feels extremely upset that he caused this accident,” the court was told. “His overriding concern is that he caused upset to others who will have viewed the accident. This boils down to a momentary lapse of judgement.”
Spared roads ban
Sheriff Graham Buchanan was told Coutts has previous speeding and careless driving convictions from 20 years ago and that he has an otherwise clean licence, the loss of which would “severely impact” his ability to work.
Sheriff Buchanan said it was “fortunate” Coutts himself was the only one who suffered significant injuries and that he could deal with it, but “only just” by means other than a roads ban.
Coutts, of Girdleness Road, Aberdeen, was fined £1,875 and handed seven penalty points.
Speaking after the court case, Watermill Coaches’ transport manager Raymond Clark said the driver and children involved were all left “shaken” by the incident.
“I’m just glad no one was seriously hurt,” he said.
“Understandably everyone was shaken up and I know our driver took some time off from behind the wheel after this incident but is back driving the Alford pupils again now.”
Mr Clark said that many of his coach drivers, who are responsible for many school routes across Aberdeenshire, report “near misses of a similar nature” regularly.
“It’s all too common for other road users who are very eager to get past large vehicles, whether it’s a school bus or not,” he added.
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