At least 21 people died and more than a dozen others were injured on Tuesday night when a coach powered by methane smashed through the guard rail of an overpass near Venice and plunged 50ft to the ground, bursting into flames.
The mayor of Venice described the scene of the crash as “apocalyptic”.
Perhaps gaseous fuels aren’t quite the thing then?
I wonder if the driver ‘died suddenly’ at the wheel?
Gas or no gas, falling 50ft is going to have that fatal effect.
Hollywood movies regularly inform me that any car involved in even a minor crash will spontaneously explode. I’m sure they wouldn’t lie to me.
Turns out it was electric. Batteries caught file after the fall.
According to the BBC
‘https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67001518’
Interestingly, the beeb now claims that the bus was electric, and the batteries caught fire!!
“I wonder if the driver ‘died suddenly’ at the wheel?”
What, you mean like the bus driver who suffered ‘a medical incident’ up in Liverpool the other day, killing a child passenger, and himself (if he wasn’t already dead)?
When one nuclear reactor had an un-reversable emergency shutdown 8000 miles away, Europe banned nuclear reactors. Obviously, now Europe will be banning electric (or gas?) vehicles.
I thought that all went quiet remarkably quickly
To be fair I do know someone whose recently parked petrol car burst into flames while she was briefly talking to someone in an office.
On the other hand Range Rovers are notoriously badly made. Do Toyotas ever spontaneously combust?
@Jim
It does rather look that way:
‘Investigators believe the driver of the coach – identified as 40-year-old Italian Alberto Rizzotto – had a ‘medical episode’, causing the electric vehicle to veer off the road.’
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12592043/Venice-bus-crash-driver-medical-episode.html
To be fair I do know someone whose recently parked petrol car burst into flames while she was briefly talking to someone in an office.
Straight petrol or a hybrid?
whose recently parked petrol car burst into flames while she was briefly talking to someone in an office
Vauxhalls used to be bad for that sort of thing.
As any fule kno US filling stations offer three types of fuel: Regular, Super and Explodium.
“Straight petrol or a hybrid?” Straight. Presumably super unleaded or whatever Range Rovers used ca 2015.
Not only are Range Rovers ill put together they are, for us, too bloody small. Inadequate leg room. BMWs and Mercedes are equally NBG judging by my experience over the last decade, Lexuses too; either no leg room or no head room or both.
Does anyone know what the Dutch buy?
dearieme – Volvos in my experience.
Better ask Grikath how common it is for 40 something bus drivers to have ‘medical episodes’ out of the blue. I’m sure he’ll have an answer.
When I was a nuclear engineer I went to an interesting lecture by an aircraft designer. He explained that airline safety evolves incrementally as near misses and accidents are examined. Most accidents now are ‘Swiss cheese’ issues where by bad luck multiple systems fail. I suspect that we are early in the development of EV and there will be an increasing number of fatalities before the engineering mitigates them.
In aircraft and cars the most dangerous component is the driver.
“there will be an increasing number of fatalities before the engineering mitigates them.”
They may be may be extinct before engineering can rescue them.
Not only are Range Rovers ill put together they are, for us, too bloody small. Inadequate leg room.
Curiously, I was looking at one of those last night & wondering what it was for. Apart from being seen driving around in something said Range Rover on the back. I could about understand the old Mark One Rangies that had the rubber mats on the floor. On off road ute with a bit more comfort than a Landie. But the way they’ve mutated, there isn’t anything off-road you’d want to do in one. They’re just another 4WD hatchback with styling meaning you can hardly get any more in it. Less than many.. The ultimate expression of the Chelsea Chariot. And why would you need 4WD on the Kings Road anyway. Oh! The state of Khan’s road maintenance performance? I”ll take that back.
JB – The then Head of Driver Training at my old train operating company introduced us trainers to James Reasons’ ‘Swiss Cheese Model’ about 17 years ago and it fitted with most of the safety critical incidents we had experienced – not normally just one thing as a cause, usually two or three things all conspiring together to fuck you up.
Just a geography lesson ref the bus crash “Up in Liverpool” last week. It occurred on the M53 on the Wirral, which isn’t now, or has never been, in Liverpool. There was also an EV that burst into flames in Bromborough which was reported to be “In Liverpool”. Bromborough is also on the Wirral not in Liverpool. A pet peeve of mine.
Between Wales, Cumbria and Yorkshire (the bits north of Watford Gap the civilised have ever heard of) it’s Liverpool, right? Cheekie chappies with mop tops?
Maybe people should just refer to Hubcaplandia?
So it just went through the guardrail… Did the mafia supply the railings?
‘kinell Tim,
I think the Mancs might have something to say about that….