Bus captain not dozing off at the wheel but has neck pains: SBS Transit

The clip of the driver, who appeared to be nodding off at the wheel of the bus, went viral quickly. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/DARIUS CHAN

SINGAPORE - A bus driver who was captured on video seemingly dozing off at the wheel was not actually falling asleep, SBS Transit has said.

A 25sec clip of the man, wearing glasses and appearing to be nodding off at the wheel of a bus, was posted on Facebook on Monday (May 7).

The video went viral quickly, with netizens chastising him for putting commuters in danger.

SBS Transit's senior vice-president of corporate communications Tammy Tan clarified in a statement to The Straits Times that they have identified the bus captain in the video and conducted an investigation on the incident.

"While the video seems to suggest that our bus captain was dozing off at the wheel, our findings based on the closed-circuit television footage from the bus reveals that this was not the case," she said. "Throughout the time he was on the road, the bus captain kept to his lane, slowed down when approaching bus stops and also stopped safely behind other buses or vehicles. He also conducted a right turn safely during the trip. All these would not have been possible had he been dozing off at the wheel."

Ms Tan added that the bus captain has "neck pains which causes him to bend more than normal", but stressed that his driving ability is not affected.

"He has been medically certified fit to drive," she said. "We assure our commuters that dozing off while driving is not something we take lightly and will not hesitate to take action against any bus captain found doing so."

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.