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Video: Birmingham bus driver caught reading at the wheel

Footage shows driver steering with elbows

A bus driver in Birmingham has been suspended after being filmed by a passenger steering the vehicle with his elbows as he read a book while driving. The footage, posted on YouTube, shows that the driver was so engrossed in his reading material – we’re guessing it wasn’t the Highway Code – that he didn’t even notice he was being filmed.

The incident took place on Monday evening on Birmingham’s busy Bristol Street and involved a number 61 bus operated by National Express West Midlands. According to The Sun, the driver now faces disciplinary action, including potentially losing his job, for endangering passenger safety, although clearly his actions put other road users at risk too.

A National Express spokesman told the newspaper: “Immediate action was taken to suspend the driver who will now face disciplinary action. It is not appropriate to predict the outcome but an incident of this type is likely to lead to a dismissal.” The spokesman added: "It is completely unacceptable for any driver to behave in this manner."

The Sun reports that the driver continued to read while pulling into bus stops, breaking off from his book only to accept fares, and one passenger told the newspaper:

“The guy was in a world of his own, totally absorbed in his book. There were a lot of passengers on the bus but it didn't bother him at all.”

"He was literally steering with his elbows and glancing between the book and the road ahead. He could easily have caused a major accident.”

The unnamed passenger added: "It's not as if he was on a quiet country road. He was driving down one of the busiest roads in Brum while immersed in a novel."

Yesterday, we reported the results of a survey of Manchester cyclists conducted by Love Your Bike that found that leaving too little room when overtaking was considered the most dangerous behaviour displayed by bus drivers.

Although ‘reading at the wheel’ wasn’t one of the response choices in that survey, we imagine it would have finished pretty high up the list, too.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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9 comments

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Tony Farrelly | 14 years ago
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Good one, let us know if you hear anything back.

Avatar
Recumbenteer | 14 years ago
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He's a cyclist killer in waiting.

This is so serious, that he should have his PSV [or whatever it's called now] licence revoked.

I've reported this to the Police. Let's hope the full force of the Law is used.

Assuming he's sacked and loses his licence, perhaps it might persuade others to stop dangerous activities while driving.

Avatar
Tony Farrelly replied to Recumbenteer | 14 years ago
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Recumbenteer wrote:

He's a cyclist killer in waiting.

This is so serious, that he should have his PSV [or whatever it's called now] licence revoked.

I've reported this to the Police. Let's hope the full force of the Law is used.

Assuming he's sacked and loses his licence, perhaps it might persuade others to stop dangerous activities while driving.

What response did you get from the police when you reported it?

Avatar
Recumbenteer replied to Tony Farrelly | 14 years ago
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tony_farrelly wrote:
Recumbenteer wrote:

He's a cyclist killer in waiting.

This is so serious, that he should have his PSV [or whatever it's called now] licence revoked.

I've reported this to the Police. Let's hope the full force of the Law is used.

Assuming he's sacked and loses his licence, perhaps it might persuade others to stop dangerous activities while driving.

What response did you get from the police when you reported it?

Thank you for your email, this has been forwarded to the Birmingham South LPU for

Their attention.

Kind regards

CONTACTUS TEAM
WEST MIDLANDS POL

Avatar
G-bitch | 14 years ago
0 likes

Hailing from Brum myself, I'm just amazed it wasn't a copy of the Sun or Daily Star...

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jobysp | 14 years ago
0 likes

Ha ha ha! That, in time Hammy, will be a classic...

Avatar
Hammy | 14 years ago
0 likes

Let's hope they throw the book at him.

… I'll get my coat

Avatar
jobysp | 14 years ago
0 likes

Suspended?
They should have sacked him on the spot.

Avatar
Simon_MacMichael replied to jobysp | 14 years ago
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jobysp wrote:

Suspended?
They should have sacked him on the spot.

Given the spokesman's comments, sounds like sacking is a formality. They probably have some legal niceties to follow just to make sure that everything's done by the... well, you know...  3

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