Fatalities in one of Australia’s worst bus crashes could have been reduced with better protections for ejected passengers, a three-year investigation has found.
Ten mostly young wedding guests were killed in a bus tip-over at a roundabout in Greta in the NSW Hunter Valley in 2023, with a further 25 injured.
Driver Brett Andrew Button, 60, received a decades-long prison sentence for his role in the crash, as he was under the influence of an opioid painkiller and driving too fast at the time.
The Office of Transport Safety Investigations on Friday handed down an investigation report into the crash.
Chief Investigator Jim Modrouvanos said Button should not have been behind the wheel on the night of the crash, but added passenger protection systems had not worked effectively.
''The extent of fatalities and injuries associated with passenger ejection could have been avoided,'' he said.
''When the coach rolled, the windows broke and the coach was unable to contain passengers, and many passengers were ejected or partially ejected."
He said not all passengers wore seatbelts fitted in the coach and they were not issued with a pre-trip safety warning as was company policy.
He identified issues with the roundabout involved in the crash and noted Button’s use of medication and history of complaints were not sufficiently known.
Mr Modrouvanos delivered 41 recommendations in total.
Government regulators, operators and organisations have accepted wholly or in principle the 34 recommendations relevant to them.
They included strengthening medication management, developing a centralised driver performance system, increasing seatbelt management, and a review of minimum rollover-protection requirements.
The NSW government was committed to actioning outcomes of the report, Transport Minister John Graham said.
''We can't undo the immense loss and trauma caused by this crash, but we learn and change from it - and we are doing that,'' he said.
Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray said his body had already started delivering on the recommendations.
In November, Button unsuccessfully attempted to reduce his 32-year sentence for the crash.
A court previously heard he was under the influence of Tramadol and accelerated into a turn while carrying guests from a wine estate wedding.
His bus entered the elliptical roundabout on the way to Singleton before tipping over and hitting a guardrail.
"This next part's going to be fun," Button told passengers before accelerating into the roundabout and speeding around the turn before the crash.
Survivors described feeling they were about to die as the bus fell sideways towards a roadside barrier.
"The sensation of falling sideways and being completely powerless was terrifying," one told Button's sentencing hearing.
