Bus driver arrested for ‘dangerous driving’ during protest was going at 30km/h: Bus union

A police officer stops a 970 bus in Yau Ma Tei on Sept. 6, 2020. Screenshot via Hong Kong Police Facebook livestream
A police officer stops a 970 bus in Yau Ma Tei on Sept. 6, 2020. Screenshot via Hong Kong Police Facebook livestream

The bus driver who police detained for “dangerous driving” during a protest was only going at 30 kilometers per hour—well under the road’s speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour, records show.

According to data from the vehicle’s black box, an electronic data recorder installed on all franchised buses in Hong Kong, the driver was not speeding, Chairman of the New World First Bus Company Staff Union, Lam Kam-piu, said on Wednesday.

In an interview with Commercial Radio, Lam said dashcam footage also showed that the driver honked three times because police officers were in his way. He said he did not understand why authorities said he had “honked for no reason,” citing that the law permits drivers to sound their horns if there is perceived to be a road hazard.

The 37-year-old driver was arrested Sunday during a protest in Yau Ma Tei while driving the 970 route bound for Cyberport.

Read more: Hong Kong bus driver dubiously arrested for dangerous driving during protest faces additional weapon charge

In a video livestreamed by the police’s Facebook page that afternoon, police officers are seen stopping the bus on Nathan Road and boarding the vehicle. Officers demanded that the driver alight the bus. He was then patted down and searched before being taken away.

The driver was wearing a respirator typically used by protesters.

Police said the driver had been arrested for dangerous driving, and later confirmed that he was also suspected of possessing an offensive weapon because officers found that he had a spanner with him. The additional charge fueled further accusations that his arrest was politically motivated.

Hong Kong Bus Channel, a group of public transportation workers, explained in a Facebook video that drivers typically carry spanners to adjust their rearview mirrors so they do not have to return to the depot, where they can borrow such tools. The angle of the mirrors, the group said, has to be adjusted for a driver’s height and sitting posture.

The Bus Industry Union said it has called on the police to respond to five demands, including an explanation for how a spanner constitutes an offensive weapon and an apology for abusing their authority.

The union said that drivers of non-franchised buses, who drive routes including the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge shuttle bus and the MTR shuttle bus connections, may take industrial action if the police does not respond by 4pm on Friday.



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