Screening missed bus driver's opioid use before deadly wedding crash

A breakdown in safety systems was a contributing factor to the lethality of a bus rollover in the NSW Hunter Valley that killed 10 passengers and injured dozens more, according to a new safety report.The group was travelling home from a wedding in 2023 when the bus crashed in Greta, marking one of the deadliest coach crashes in the state's history. Brett Button was sentenced to a prison term of 32 years after he was convicted of dangerous driving occasioning death over the crash.The Office of Transport Safety (OTSI) report into the crash found the systems for detecting Button's drug use did not work."The driver should not have been behind the wheel that night, given a history of likely misuse of the opioid prescription painkiller tramadol, including likely impairment at the time of the crash," he said."The applicable system of driver health oversight and standard drug testing did not appropriately identify this issue or escalate it to the driver licensing authority."He said passenger complaints about his conduct were also not disclosed.The investigation also found passenger protection systems, including seatbelts, were unable to prevent passenger ejections, which contributed to the extent of fatalities and injuries.The report has handed down a total of 41 recommendations to improve safety across the state's bus and road network. The state government has accepted in full or in principle the 21 recommendations that were handed to Transport for New South Wales.It has proposed new legislation that includes a new set of safety duties for bus operators, company officers, procurers, bus safety workers and drivers, as well as a strengthened compliance and enforcement framework.