AMSTERDAM — A bus driver with public transport company Connexxion had a lucky escape after his head became jammed in a faulty door. The incident comes after a bus driver was killed in a similar accident last year.

In the latest incident, an Enschede man suffered minor injuries when the door closed on his head. A colleague quickly helped free the man, news agency ANP reported.

Connexxion revealed on Tuesday that the incident occurred on Friday 2 April. It comes after a driver was killed in the Almelo depot in December when he became trapped by the vehicle’s automatic sliding door while stepping off the bus.

The Labour Inspectorate fined Connexxion in January and ruled that it is not acceptable to have bus doors under pressure while drivers lock up their vehicles. The doors would automatically close when a bus is switched off.

Connexxion promised to make technical adjustments to about 219 buses and a company spokesman said the bus that was the scene of Friday’s accident had in fact been adjusted last year. He said the latest incident was thus unrelated.

But the company was meeting on Tuesday to determine if extra measures were needed to ensure safety. Bus drivers were informed of the incident last week.

[Copyright Expatica News 2004]

Subject: Dutch news