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Bus technology catches out dishonest Sunderland woman

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Bus technology catches out dishonest Sunderland woman

A Wearside woman has had her personal injury claim thrown out of court and been ordered to pay the defendant’s costs after technology proved she wasn’t injured in a bus collision.

CCTV camera footage and an accelerometer fitted to the bus disproved her claim that she was jolted backwards and forwards by the impact of a low speed crash - which she claimed caused her a neck and shoulder injury.

The case was heard at Sunderland County Court and is the latest of three recent, similar court cases won by bus firm Go North East.

Managing director of Go North East, Kevin Carr, says:

“The cases highlight the problem of a widespread assumption that any road traffic accident automatically results in a right to claim financial compensation.”

In September 2015, a Go North East bus collided with another bus whilst reversing slowly out of a parking bay at a bus station. The incident caused minor damage to one of the buses.

The on board accelerometer showed that g-forces were low and the bus was travelling at just six to seven miles per hour – much slower than the passenger claimed. One expert said the g-forces were at or below the level that could cause injury.

The Judge said: “Taking all of the evidence into account, my own observations of the footage, I am not satisfied that any injury that [the claimant] may have presented… was due to this accident. I do not find the claim proven and I dismiss the claim.”

The claimant was ordered by the court to pay Go North East’s costs which are in excess of £5,000.

Managing director of Go North East, Kevin Carr adds: “We have an extremely low rate of accidents on our fleet of over 650 buses which travel around 35 million miles every year.

“Whenever there is a collision, we strive to make sure that anyone affected by it is supported accordingly. Dishonest claims of personal injury like this are not harmless because ultimately we all pay the price for them via rising costs of transport fares and vehicle insurance.

“We have cutting edge technology on all our buses now which helps us establish exactly the causation and extent of any collision that occurs.”

Go North East was represented by law firm, DWF. 

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On the Go since 1913

Around 175,000 journeys are made on Go North East bus services every day to travel around this wonderful region. Travelling to work or education, to visit friends and family, to have a night out, or to visit one of the region's many tourist and leisure attractions.

For over 100 years, Go North East has connected the region's towns and villages with the cities of Newcastle, Durham and Sunderland and currently operates across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham and into Tees Valley.

Employing over 2,000 local people, with a fleet of almost 700 buses and coaches and an annual turnover of £100m, the company is the regional subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group plc, one of the UK's leading providers of passenger transport.

Go North East

117 Queen Street
NE8 2UA Gateshead