'Death-trap' minibus with dodgy doors and plastic chairs seized near Rugby

The minibus, which had ten passengers inside at the time, was stopped by police officers and officers from the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) on the M1 in Crick on September 26. The minibus was travelling from Northampton to Leicester.

According to the DVSA, the outside looked “OK” but it “soon became apparent that all wasn’t as it should be”.

The officers found a number of issues, which included:

• The driver did not have the correct licence to drive the class of vehicle, thus their insurance was invalid too
• None of the passenger doors opened from the outside
• The nearside door only opened about six inches
• The rear door handle was locked
• The offside door would only open from the inside. The DVSA said: “If it was involved in an accident, the passengers would be trapped.”
• One passenger was wearing a seatbelt around her neck
• Heavy string was tied between a seatbelt fixing point and the rear seat to prevent it from tipping backwards as there were no fixings holding the seat down
• There was a plastic dining chair in the aisle
• There were two garden chairs in the boot/luggage area

Posting about the stop on Facebook, the DVSA said: “Time’s up for this skip of a minibus.

"All incredibly dangerous.

"Companies really can do better than use this kind of deathtrap.

“Do your research and find a reputable company for your next trip away to avoid this situation happening.”

A DVSA spokesperson said: “Protecting people from unsafe vehicles and drivers is a top priority for DVSA, and enforcement operations like these allow us to make a real difference on the roads.

“Minibus drivers are responsible for making sure a vehicle is safe to drive and should carry out a vehicle walkaround check to identify and report any defects before their journey.”

The minibus was seized by police due to the licence and insurance issues.

Northamptonshire Police forensic collision investigator and specialist vehicle examiner, Sergeant Chris Gray, added: “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility, and with the support from our partners, we will continue to hold these operations to ensure people using our roads are doing so both legally and responsibly.”