An elderly coach driver killed three men and seriously injured a fourth when he ploughed into the back of a stationary car on a motorway hard shoulder, a jury heard today.

Alan Peters, now 78 and from Gravesend, was transporting a team of 62 passengers on the double decker that smashed into the Audi, which had its hazard lights flashing.

The men who died were Audi driver Allan Evans, 59, from Islington in London and back seat passengers Nathan Reeves, 23, and 20-year-old Tom Aldridge, both from Newport Pagnell, Bucks.

The passengers' friend Jake Dorling, who was in the front passenger seat, suffered a fractured skull, fractured hips and four fractured ribs.

Prosecutor Peter Shaw told Luton Crown Court today: "Jake Dorling was able to provide the police with information about how the Audi came to be on the hard shoulder.

"Jake had been seated in the front passenger seat. Two of his friends were in the rear of the car. The driver was someone who had agreed to give the three of them a lift after a DJ event the previous evening.

"Whilst travelling on the M1, the oil light suddenly illuminated on the dashboard. The driver said he'd had the problem before and pulled over onto the hard shoulder and drew to a stop.

"The driver went to the boot and took out some oil which he used to replenish the engine oil. He had got back into the car and was readying the car to re-join the motorway traffic. That was the last memory Jake Dorling had until he awoke in hospital."

The jury of nine women and three men was played CCTV images showing the collision, which happened when it was still dark.

Mr Shaw said Mr Peters was driving the Volvo Coach from Sheerness-based firm Travelmasters, on the northbound M1 between junctions 12 and 13 near Flitwick in Bedfordshire, at 7.40am when he struck the Audi.

Mr Shaw went on: "His coach collided with the rear of the Audi motor vehicle. That vehicle was stationary, but positioned on the hard shoulder area of the M1. It had its hazard warning lights activated.

"Not only did the defendant make the serious error of moving into the hard shoulder and maintaining his position there at cruising speed, he failed to react to the stationary car ahead until the very last" - Peter Shaw, prosecuting

"Nevertheless this defendant crashed into the back of that car at a speed estimated to be about 61mph. The crown's case is that in doing so he was driving dangerously."

He told the jury: "It is the case that between junctions 10 and 13 on the M1 motorway, the hard shoulder can be deployed as an additional inside lane.

"That is something which can be managed by the Highways Agency by use of various signs.

"On the day of the collision however those signs were being used to denote that the hard shoulder was designated for emergency use only.

"There was ample opportunity for the defendant to have heeded those warnings. However in contravention of those signs he entered the hard shoulder and once on the hard shoulder, he remained there for two minutes and 48 seconds.

"Not only did the defendant make the serious error of moving into the hard shoulder and maintaining his position there at cruising speed, he failed to react to the stationary car ahead until the very last, with evidence of him applying his brakes 0.4 seconds before impact."

It was a clear run uninterrupted by intervening cars and the Audi had its hazard warning lights on. The stationary Audi would have been in view for 1500 metres, equating to a travelling time of 55 seconds. Mr Peters steered the coach to the right 0.6 seconds prior to the impact, it was alleged.

The prosecutor said that earlier a car transporter had made the same serious error of driving on the hard shoulder, but had moved to his right when he saw the stationary Audi.

When questioned, Mr Peters said he thought the hard shoulder was open to all traffic at the time. He said he could not be certain why he had not reacted to the stationary vehicle, but there may have been a vehicle ahead of him which may have acted to obscure his view. The coach driver said he did not see any hazard warning light.

In a second interview he gave a written statement saying: "I believe that the hard shoulder was open at the time I was driving in it, and I reacted to the broken down vehicles in the same way as any other driver would have."

Alan Peters, from Valley Drive, Gravesend, denies causing the death of the three men by dangerous driving on Saturday, February 14 last year. He also denies causing serious injury to Jake Dorling.

Mr Shaw said that Mr Peters had pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of causing three deaths by careless driving.

He said the crown maintained the driving was dangerous, adding: "This is on account of his failure to observe and respond to signage to say that the hard shoulder was not in use as a running lane but was for emergencies only; his failure to detect the presence of the stationary car, with its hazard lights activated, in sufficient time to avoid a collision and that his errors were not momentary but for a prolonged period."

The trial continues.