Nobody much likes drivers who wantonly put other peoples' lives at risk by using their phones whilst on the move. So you can imagine the anger when a school bus driver was caught doing precisely that.
Greig Elrick, a driver for Kineil Coaches of Fraserburgh, was taking pupils home from Old Meldrum Academy to the north of Aberdeen on September 22 last year when he was spotted talking into his phone whilst driving.
Elrick later explained that he was using the phone to talk to his depot manager who had phoned him to tell him where he wanted the vehicle returned to after his school run. This wasn't an excuse which cut any ice at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, however.
Elrick was fined £500 and given three penalty points on his driving licence at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. The Traffic Commissioner for Scotland Joan Aitken also took the opportunity to suspend his bus driver licence for eight weeks, adding that the suspension took account of Elrick's previous good record during a a long career as a driver and that he appeared to recognise the seriousness of his action.
Kineil Coaches are not exactly off the hook, though. The commissioner has said she is now to ask the company to explain just why they were phoning one of their drivers when they knew him to be driving his bus.
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