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Watch: 'She could kill'- Shocking video shows bus driver distracted by phone

Author
Chris Marriner,
Publish Date
Wed, 22 Mar 2023, 2:02pm

Watch: 'She could kill'- Shocking video shows bus driver distracted by phone

Author
Chris Marriner,
Publish Date
Wed, 22 Mar 2023, 2:02pm

A bus driver has been caught on video repeatedly looking at her phone as she drives passengers on a busy Auckland road, with one passenger saying her actions risked lives.

The video, recorded during rush hour on Monday on a bus travelling through Auckland鈥檚 North Shore, shows the driver repeatedly looking at the phone, which she is connected to via an earpiece.

Auckland Transport and the bus operator are investigating the incident.

The driver looks away from the road over a dozen times in the 90-second video, even looking down at the phone and swiping it as the bus approaches a corner on Beach Rd in the East Coast Bays.

Whatever the distracted driver was watching was enough to see her glued to it as soon as the bus briefly stops to let passengers off, returning to her dangerous and illegal multitasking as the bus rejoins its route.

The driver was seen repeatedly looking at her phone.

The driver was seen repeatedly looking at her phone.

The passenger who supplied the video to the聽贬别谤补濒诲听said the driver was clearly browsing videos and said she 鈥渄idn鈥檛 seem to be in full control of the bus鈥.

鈥淪he could kill some people,鈥 the passenger said, adding that the driver was often checking her phone throughout her 15-minute journey from Sunnynook to Murrays Bay.

A spokesperson for Auckland Transport told the聽Herald聽that they would be investigating and remind all their bus operators that mobile phones should not be used while driving.

聽鈥淯sing your mobile phone while driving is dangerous,鈥 they added. 鈥淲e want everyone to be safe on our roads and AT and our bus operators take this very seriously.鈥

A police spokesperson told the聽Herald聽they would be following up on the video with a view to issuing an infringement notice if an offence is determined to have been committed.

They said driving while distracted is one of the leading causes of road crashes and reminded Kiwis it鈥檚 illegal to read any type of message, browse the internet, play games or view videos while driving - and the penalty is a $150 fine and 20 demerit points.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just not worth it, and puts you and other road users at risk,鈥 the spokesperson said.

鈥淒rivers should not use their phone at all when driving 鈥 even when stopped at an intersection. If you need to, pull over and park before doing so.鈥

The driver joins a聽聽of Auckland bus drivers caught by passengers without their eyes on the road.

In 2015, an Auckland bus driver聽聽was pulled in by bosses furious at his 鈥渟tupidity鈥.

The driver was caught on camera flicking through the paper on his early evening bus route by a passenger who filmed him on his smartphone.

The bus was moving as the driver read his newspaper, which was spread out over the steering wheel.

Ritchies Coachlines boss Andrew Ritchie called him a 鈥渃omplete idiot鈥.

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