BUS drivers in Scotland have called for an international investigation into the number of UK holidaymakers who die in Continental coach crashes.
They are urging European politicians to set up a committee to examine issues such as drivers' work schedules and the age of vehicles.
The call came from the T&G union's Scottish bus workers' annual conference in Glasgow where delegates representing more than 9000 staff expressed serious concern.
``Most people who travel to the Continent think that when they arrive at the airport or ferry terminal, the most dangerous part of their journey has been completed,'' said Mr Des Divers of the Glasgow passenger district committee. ``But, as we know, in many instances the most dangerous part is just beginning.''
Between 1989 and 1993, 138 people had been killed and 714 seriously injured in coach accidents on European roads, he said, and the union was awaiting publication of the latest figures, which it feared would show a dramatic rise.
It wants prosecution of coach companies who force drivers to work impossible schedules. By doing so, such operators make drivers risk their own and their passengers' lives through driver fatigue.
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