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It was shortly before two o’clock in the morning on November 5 when the driver hit the brakes: On the way between Lufingen in Zurich, Unterdorf and Oberembrach, the Postauto maxibus had lost a wheel on the left side, Post subsidiary Blick-Information confirmed.
No one was injured and there was only minor damage to the vehicle, Postauto emphasizes. However, the trip could not continue. The passengers had to see for themselves how they fared.
But this is not an isolated incident: PO boxes have lost a rear wheel six times since 2019.
More wheels than a car
Losing a wheel on a mailbox maxibus has different consequences than on a four-wheeled passenger car: a maxibus has two wheels at the front and two double wheels at the rear. Depending on the route, losing a wheel is not without danger. For example, the risk is greater if a wheel is lost in a tunnel. It can have devastating consequences for – depending on the model – a maximum of 30 to 40 seated passengers and especially the 20 to 60 standing passengers and for other road users if the wheel ricochets off the tunnel wall and collides with the vehicle. .
However, the public transport company denies that there is a safety problem. And it says: “Postauto does not save money at the expense of safety,” says spokesperson Urs Bloch. Safety is central to Postbus’ daily activities. In addition, we adhere to the legal requirements, we have standardized processes and experts who can take care of these questions.
Only: the procedures were not followed correctly! As Postbus confirms, winter tires were installed on this maxibus at the beginning of October. Since then the vehicle has been used extensively. According to Postbus, he has traveled more than 9,000 kilometers since the tire change. “Each vehicle undergoes a safety check every day before being put into service, as well as monthly safety checks,” the company said. The daily safety check includes a walk around the vehicle, including a look at the wheels.
“Fuses were missing”
The tire change of the bus in question was carried out by an external company. After such a change, the wheel nuts should actually be tightened again after a certain number of kilometers, says Postbus. According to information from Blick, the tightening should have taken place after a distance of about 500 kilometers. No later than this point, the wheel nut locking devices must be placed on the nuts. “These fuses were missing in the affected vehicle,” said spokesperson Bloch. “We are currently investigating how this could have happened.”
If the applicable regulations had been observed, the drivers should have discovered the lack of fuses at the latest during the daily inspection at the start of work. However, the drivers have to perform so many work steps when starting work that the safety check was clearly inadequate on several occasions. In fact, they have been complaining to Blick for some time that safety could suffer from the high workload – which Postbus rejects.
Postbus checks in
But now a higher authority is checking whether safety shortcomings at the Postbus have led to further wheel loss. De Sust, the state security investigative body, is investigating why checks on post office boxes failed.
In general, Postbus is doing well. The number of accidents in yellow public transport has fallen slightly from 82 since 2018 – to which the Corona silence may also have contributed. But in 2022 there will be 85 accidents. At the end of November there were 71 incidents this year. The vehicles were often well filled: at the end of July 2023 there was a twelve percent increase in passengers compared to the previous year. And compared to the period before Corona, there were still four percent more passengers on the road until the summer – we are heading for a record year – sometimes on fewer wheels than planned.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
