School bus driver ‘caught on phone’

A SCHOOL bus driver has been suspended for allegedly using his mobile phone while transporting children.

He was photographed holding the device while at the wheel of a minibus full of pupils from Langtree School in Woodcote while travelling on the A4074 last week.

The pictures were taken by 12-year-old George Slack, who is in year 8, on the advice of his father Damian following previous claims about the driver doing the same thing.

Mr Slack, 53, a horse transporter from Ipsden, published the photographs on a Woodcote community Facebook page as a “last resort” after receiving no response from the operating company, Sprinters Travel.

He said: “George kept saying, ‘The driver is on his phone’ so I said to take a picture and within the next couple of days he did.

“I had already rung the company and informed them of this and the lady said she was away. She ignored me, so I sent a message and she didn’t do anything about it.

“I said, ‘You’ve got until Tuesday to call me back or at least tell me you’ve dealt with it’ and they didn’t so I put it on social media as a last resort.

“I just didn’t feel I was listened to,” he said. “I’m a transport manager so I know these things. If someone came to me first personally, I would deal with it with the right discipline procedures.”

He said his main concern was the children’s safety.

Mr Slack said: “The A4074 from Woodcote to Ipsden and Wallingford is a 60mph road and I’ve seen many accidents there.You would like to think that nothing would ever happen but holding a phone at the wheel is an illegal act.”

Mr Slack thanked the Langtree headteacher Simon Bamford.

“The school has been amazing,” he said. “They found out when I posted on Tuesday night and half an hour later, Simon had left a comment and then contacted the company the next morning. It’s an absolute credit to the school that they’ve dealt with it so quickly and efficiently.”

Mr Bamford said: “Anybody who is trusted to drive students around should be upholding the highest standard of legal and road safety.

“My primary concern was for the safety of the students and I don’t like anybody being distracted in any way shape or form when they’re driving other people’s children around. I think they should be held to the highest standards.”

Oxfordshire County Council, which is responsible for school transport, said the driver had been suspended from the home-to-school transport contract while the claim was investigated.

Sprinters Travel was approached for comment.