The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) should “review work schedules” and introduce mandatory breaks for its bus drivers, says a coroner who looked into an accident that cost the life of a pedestrian in March.
“I recommend that the STM review the work schedules of bus drivers who do not have rest breaks in order to include mandatory breaks, in order to reduce factors that disrupt vigilance and reaction time,” wrote coroner Edgard Nassif in his report on the death of Mohan Chandran on March 4.
The collision occurred shortly after 9 p.m. at the corner of Décarie and Édouard-Laurin boulevards in northwest Montreal. The bus driver was driving on Décarie Boulevard and apparently turned west when he fatally struck the pedestrian who was crossing the intersection.
According to coroner Nassif’s report, Mr. Chandran suffered severe head trauma that caused his death. The victim was intoxicated.
The coroner notes, however, that “the inaction of the driver” of the bus after the initial contact “causes it to continue on its way for a few metres without braking despite the noise of the impact and the exterior rearview mirror folding in”. “If he moves at the first contact, the pedestrian does not pass under the rear wheels of the bus”, illustrates Mr. Nassif.
Necessary breaks
The crux of the problem, the coroner added, was that the driver’s schedule, which was between 3:37 p.m. and 11:17 p.m., allowed him to take breaks “only if he was ahead of schedule.” On average, the driver told him he had a 60-minute break, but that it “depended on traffic.”
On March 4, he had a 58-minute break. However, “some drivers don’t have breaks, not even breaks for physical needs,” Mr. Nassif complains.
The latter believes that “the blind spots created by the pillars and the rearview mirror on the left side of the bus” may be at play. His report also blames “defective” streetlights on the northwest corner of the intersection, which “do not provide effective lighting” of Décarie and Edouard-Laurin boulevards. The fact that the pedestrian was dressed in black and did not react should also be taken into consideration.
The STM, for its part, believes that its driver did not apply the left turn technique “as taught” and that the Highway Safety Code was not respected at the stop sign. The carrier also blames the vehicle’s blind spots and the lack of visual contact with the pedestrian.
“As we have questions about the report regarding the link between the circumstances of the event and the recommendation, we will not comment further at this time,” company spokeswoman Amélie Régis said in an email.
Awareness activities on the theme of “the complexity of left turns” have since been held with drivers. A collision avoidance system must also be integrated into future buses, says the STM, which also assures that it has taken “corrective measures” with the driver in particular.
The City of Montreal is being asked to maintain the “functional and optimal” lighting system at this intersection. The coroner finally recommends that Piétons Québec “remind pedestrians” of their responsibility to ensure their safety at intersections.
With Lila Dussault, The Press