The driver of a tram involved in a fatal crash in
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He told an inquest into the crash, which began this week at
“We think then there were insufficient distinctive factors to alert drivers to their direction of travel. One way of providing a visual clue is a sign but there are other ways of doing that,” he said, according to a
The crash took place shortly after
French said the crash was “fast and violent”, adding that witnesses had described it as “like being inside a washing machine”.
A reconstruction of the crash showed a tram emerging from the tunnel at 48mph before slowing down to 45mph as it reached a sharp bend, where it started to tip over and slid on its side.
The normal speed on exiting the tunnel was 31mph, with a speed limit of 12.5mph at the bend, the inquest jury was told.
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Investigation ‘anomalies’
French told the inquest that the RAIB was “very confident” about how events unfolded in the run-up to the crash.
But the organisation has come under criticism for its handling of the incident, including the conclusions of its report into the disaster.
Last month City A.M revealed that a former Transport for
The complaints centred on the report’s failure to analyse a series of safety audits of the
As City A.M. has revealed, these audits show that fatigue management had been highlighted as a problem on the network as early as 2014.
RAIB’s report, which was published in
Despite raising concerns that the fatigue management practices of TOL – the
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In his letter former TfL safety panel chief Michael Liebriech said there were a number of “anomalies” in the report that cast doubt on these conclusions.
The RAIB has insisted its report provides an “authoritative and evidence-based account of the accident and its causes”.
The hearing, which is expected to last 13 weeks, continues.
The post
© City AM, source