A horror Stagecoach crash which left 37 Brits injured was down to an underage driver with just 25 hours of driving experience.
The horrendous double-decker bus crash saw one young man forced to clamber over unconscious bodies to escape.
In the wake of devastating collision, regulators have slammed the transport firm as “dangerous”.
The double-decker plus ploughed into a field and flipped over on the A385 between Totnes and Paignton on October, 5, 2019, leaving dozens injured.
A public inquiry conducted into the crash accused Stagecoach Devon of “cutting corners” - and added an underage driver with inadequate driving experience contributed to the collision.
The Stagecoach Gold service between Torquay and Plymouth, driven by 19-year-old Kameron Allan, left the road and ended up on its side, DevonLive reported.
The damning findings were made by the Traffic Commissioner after the public inquiry.
The report found that “more likely than not, Stagecoach Devon Ltd, trading as Stagecoach South West, ran a service that was dangerous to the public.”
Driver Mr Allan was found to have had inadequate "support and mentoring" and was given "a duty for which he had not been trained".
The 19-year-old lost control of the vehicle on a narrow country road as he turned to secure the high-viz jacket hanging on a hook behind him, after it had begun to blow out the window.
He was originally charged with ten offences of causing serious injury through dangerous driving - but these were dropped.
He was convicted in July 2021 of a single offence of careless driving.
The Commissioner for the West of England, Kevin Rooney, said: “I make that finding because it failed to comply with its own driver training procedures and Kameron Allan was not provided with the follow-up support and mentoring that the company’s own procedures said he should get.
"He was allocated a duty for which he had not been trained.”
The law forbids drivers under the age of 21 driving routes longer than 50km.
But Stagecoach Devon argued that the service between Torquay and Plymouth was split into two sections, so the rule did not apply.
The Commissioner, however, described the argument that there were two routes as “pure fiction”.
The Commissioner said: “The Stagecoach Gold service from Torquay to Plymouth is advertised as a single service although registered as two connecting services, Torquay to Totnes and Totnes to Plymouth.
“The vehicle is the same. The driver is the same. The service retains the same name.
"There is a two-minute layover in Totnes. Any suggestion that it is two separate routes is pure fiction.”
The 19-year-old had only passed his Passenger Carrying Vehicle test, needed to drive such vehicles, in July 2019.
He had shockingly only undertaken around 25 hours driving by the time he was asked to drive the Gold service.
The hearing heard that a driver shortage forced the inexperienced young driver into the wheel.
The Commissioner said this shortage led to corners being cut and “commercial considerations overtook safety”.
Mr Rooney concluded Stagecoach failed to comply with its own procedures and therefore ran a service "dangerous to the public".
He slammed the situation as “negligent” and imposed a 10 per cent reduction on the operator’s licence.
The Commissioner added that placing an “insufficiently trained” driver in such a position significantly increased the road safety risk.
Stagecoach Devon also failed to notify the authorities of Mr Allan’s conviction for careless driving.
A Stagecoach South West spokesperson said: "The safety of our customers, our employees, and others is our absolute priority.
"As a company, it is always put first before anything else. We sincerely regret the individual actions which led to the accident in 2019 and our thoughts remain with those affected.
"Senior past and present company executives have assisted extensively the Inquiry’s consideration of the issues involved, and we will continue to follow that constructive approach.
"The bus route involved was registered to be operated in a similar way to many other bus services run by many other operators across the UK.
"Moving forward, therefore, we believe it is important there is a consistent approach developed across the industry involving all bus operators, the Department for Transport, and the Office of the Traffic Commissioner on this issue.
"Our management and frontline teams are working hard in the face of very challenging circumstances facing the bus sector, and they remain committed to doing their very best for our local communities."
