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Bullet train driver suspended for putting feet up on control planel

10 Comments

Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) said Friday it has suspended a shinkansen driver for putting both his feet up on the control panel while operating a train.

JR Central said the 29-year-old driver has admitted to putting his feet up on the control panel for about 10 seconds to stretch his legs, Sankei Shimbun reported. The driver said he had done the same thing several times before, JR Central said at a news conference.

The incident occurred at around 2 p.m. on Sept 6 while the 16-car Kodama No. 653 train was between Kakegawa and Hamamatsu stations in Shizuoka Prefecture, bound for Shin-Osaka Statuion. A train enthusiast took a photo of the driver with his feet up and posted it on Twitter, after which it went viral.

JR Central apologized for the incident. It said it was against the rules for a driver to have his feet up on the control panel as it could prevent a fast response in the event of an emergency.

However, the company said the train was in no danger because it has a system to automatically slow down if it goes over the speed limit.

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10 Comments
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Nonsense. He was driving the train with his feet and at the same time consuming his daily dose of manga literature in a very reclined position I dare say. These trains take care of the driver very well. Would not be surprised if there was a can Sapporo Beer and a packet of peanuts close by.

-9 ( +4 / -13 )

JR Central ... said it was against the rules for a driver to have his feet up on the control panel as it could prevent a fast response in the event of an emergency.

Isn't there something missing, such as attitude or, yes, common sense?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

It looks like his gleaming white socks are what lead to his undoing. They're the only thing you can see through the tinted window. If only his wife had laid out the black ones that morning.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If he was ONLY stretching his legs, how come his shoes are missing from the picture, looks like to me that his feet had been up on the control panel for a bit longer than he's said. And the "idiot of the week award" goes to ......san . will hew be sent back for retraining I wonder??

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Operating the train? Looks like it's stopped and JR is embarrassed.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Holy cow! I'm simply dumbfounded at the overly laid-back driver's behavior. Yes, I've just watched the embedded video. The driver was certainly putting his feet up on the control panel.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

If I wanted to stretch my legs, I'd stand up and have a walk around. Unless it was against the rules to leave the operator's seat, in which case I'd probably turn sideways and stretch as best I could. But this guy obviously took of his shoes and leaned back - not exactly stretching so much as relaxing.

Still, the train does look stopped.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

He'll be pulling weeds for the next 15 to 20 years.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Was this parked at the platform or a little way before? Just asking as if it was next to the platform the driver must be used to people snapping photos from the side windows. Not that this excuses him for idiocy, but you would think he would assume people are always watching and cameras are shooting.

Now JR just needs to start printing and selling sock stickers for people to use on cars, planes, starbucks windows...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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