Laxey Bridge bus accident

Summary

A Freedom of Information request regarding the Laxey Bridge bus accident was partially fulfilled by the Department of Infrastructure, disclosing vehicle details, route information, and costs while withholding the purchase price due to commercial confidentiality.

Key Facts

• The bus involved was a Dennis Trident 2 / East Lancs model, new in 2006, with a maximum gross vehicle weight of 18 tonnes.
• The bus altered its route due to Minorca Hill being closed, traveling via Captain's Hill and Glen Road before the incident.
• The insurer settled the claim for £30,000 less the excess.
• The bridge has no specific weight limit restriction, defaulting to a 32-tonne limit.
• The total cost for removing the bus and demolishing the bridge was £16,240, carried out by JCK.

Data Disclosed

• 2006
• 18 tonnes
• £30,000
• 04.01.13
• 27.05.15
• 03.12.15
• 32T
• £16,240
• 2017-02-07
• 2017-02-23

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30(2)(b) of the Act: Disclosure would prejudice commercial interests due to confidentiality clauses in the bus lease/purchase contract.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Response to your request

a) The vehicle was a Dennis Trident 2 / East Lancs which was new in 2006.

b) The gross vehicle weight was a maximum of 18 tonnes.

c) The table below shows the information on the driver instruction card for the bus that day.
The route that the bus would normally have taken was as follows:

The bus had to alter its route, however, as Minorca Hill was closed to traffic at the time.
The bus instead travelled from Main Road, to Captain’s Hill and then along Glen Road. Had the bus not suffered the incident on the bridge, it would have turned on Laxey Promenade and returned along Glen Road and Captain’s Hill. Please see Appendix 1 for the actual route that the bus took, as displayed on the Ticketer tracking system.

d) While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the purchase price of the bus because the bus purchase was subject to a contract which included a confidentiality clause. This is standard in bus manufacturers’ contracts as there is no fixed price or specification for a bus and they are all built to individual order. In this case it is further complicated by the fact that this bus was leased.

The insurer settled the claim for £30,000 less the excess.

1. a) Inspections where carried out on 04.01.13, 27.05.15 and 03.12.15 for details please see Appendix 2

b) There is no specific weight limit restriction applied to this structure, so the limit is 32T. For information see https://www.gov.im/categories/travel-traffic-and-motoring/abnormal- loads/

1. The overall costs for removal of the bus and the bridge demolition was £16,240 and was carried out by JCK.

Under section 30(2)(b) of the Act, “Disclosure of the information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the public authority holding it). (Usually relating to the commercial trading activity they undertake e.g. ongoing sale or purchase of goods and services for the purposes of revenue generation, within a competitive environment.” Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your Freedom of Information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post to foi.doi@gov.im or by delivery/post to Mr Ian Harris, Department of Infrastructure, Sea Terminal Buildings, Douglas, IM1 2RF. An electronic version and paper version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/freedom-of-information/.

Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.
If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on;

1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act; or
2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.

In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your rights to review is on the Information Commissioner’s website at: www.inforights.im/

Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about Freedom of Information requests can be found at https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/freedom-of-information/

Encs

APPENDIX 1

APPENDIX 2