DEAD GUY ON THE BUS
I was standing outside swapping stories with some other bus drivers the other day. A driver came out of the office all pissed off. Seems he was put on a record of warning for his poor attendance record. The kicker was, the last occurrence was due to a dead guy on his bus.
The driver said he was driving the bus and noticed a guy seemed to be breathing strangely. The guy got up and walked to the front of the bus. Just before he got to the driver, he extended one hand toward the driver and seemed to try and say something. Next thing the driver knew, the guy collapsed onto the floor. The driver called for help, stopped the bus and got up to check on the guy. He said he had his hand on the guys back and could feel his body rise and fall with each breath. Suddenly, the guy was still. He had stopped breathing. A passenger that knew CPR came to help but the guy was dead by the time the ambulance got there.
The driver was pretty shaken by this traumatic event and took a couple days off. Then the company charged him with an occurrence and thus the record of warning came up.
I really hope they take this guy off the record of warning. I'm sure if I saw someone drop dead in front of me, I'd like a little time off. I'm sure my mind wouldn't be on the road or the job. In fact, they should REQUIRE the driver to get off the road.
The driver said he was driving the bus and noticed a guy seemed to be breathing strangely. The guy got up and walked to the front of the bus. Just before he got to the driver, he extended one hand toward the driver and seemed to try and say something. Next thing the driver knew, the guy collapsed onto the floor. The driver called for help, stopped the bus and got up to check on the guy. He said he had his hand on the guys back and could feel his body rise and fall with each breath. Suddenly, the guy was still. He had stopped breathing. A passenger that knew CPR came to help but the guy was dead by the time the ambulance got there.
The driver was pretty shaken by this traumatic event and took a couple days off. Then the company charged him with an occurrence and thus the record of warning came up.
I really hope they take this guy off the record of warning. I'm sure if I saw someone drop dead in front of me, I'd like a little time off. I'm sure my mind wouldn't be on the road or the job. In fact, they should REQUIRE the driver to get off the road.
posted by Jeanne Ree at 11:47 AM
4 Comments:
Incredible.
If a DRIVER dies while on duty...are they written up as well?
Could Happen!
Don't you love it? I know this is Jeannne's blog, but I wanted to share this: In actuality (for the general public's FYI), you are written up each and every time you call in sick. Written doctors' excuse? Doesn't MATTER. Shut up and sign your work history. That's an occurrence. Seven occurrences and you get a record of warning. You are on REAL thin ice at this point, because one MORE "screwup" and you are history. Period. Problem is, the "occurrence" is a very broad area. This outrageous situation (the original blog of the operator with the dead body getting an occurrence for the PTSD is an excellent example). It is entirely within management's discretion. Whoever this operator's manager is, he or she is NOT a very reasonable perosn, based on the evidence presented here. IIt goes to show though,if you are disliked they WILL find a legal way to NAIL you. You can get an occurrence for basically anything, from mishandling a situation with a customer (your manager will be the judge AFTER the fact), to running the bus early, to forgetting to change your destination sign or farebox at the end of a trip, to being 30 seconds late for work (you read that right, thirty SECONDS - there is no: "sorry I'm a minute or two late boss, traffic was a little rough coming in today" or, "I had a flat tire" for us), to even some of the out-of-the-ordinary nice things Jeanne has mentioned that she does (and I do as well as a few other operators do). Giving away a transfer could actually be considered a violation...think about it; "theft" of company revenue. It's all occurrence fodder. We also have another category, a serious violation which would be more than an occurrence, it would be known as a Class A, of which it takes only three to get you fired. I won't get into what they are, only to say that it can be THAT easy to "get nailed". Like the lady says, "it could happen!". I really enjoy my job, as it's obvious Ms. Jeanne does. But, now you see what pressure we are up against..... from our OWN organization. It's why there's a union. And, it's also why some folks who are really GOOD at this job throw up their hands in despair and give up.
Friendly Neighborhood South Garage Operator :-)
You sure know a lot about getting into trouble...do you do it often? Just messin' with ya. Actually, I've never really had a bad manager. I've been lucky to have been treated fairly...so far! I just do my job and have fun with it.
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