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Passenger brings bus to a halt after driver loses consciousness

12 Comments

A woman on a bus got behind the wheel and brought the vehicle to a halt after the driver lost consciousness on a national highway in Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture, on Sunday.

According to police, the bus, operated by the Shinki Bus Co, was going through the town of Okubo in Akashi City on National Route 2, when the 52-year-old male driver lost consciousness, Fuji TV reported. The bus was passing through an intersection when the driver suddenly slumped over to his left, with his seatbelt still secured.

The 53-year-old woman passenger, seated near the front, realized that something was wrong and got behind the wheel to steer the bus to safety. The vehicle finally came to a halt after 100 meters when it hit a curb.

When emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene, the driver was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest. He was taken to hospital where he remained unconscious and in a critical condition on Monday. The woman who took over the driving suffered minor injuries after hitting her hip, but the other six commuters on the bus were not injured.

The Shinki Bus Company said that the driver has no record of chronic disease and had undergone a medical examination in August. There were no abnormalities in his health then nor did he seem ill at the morning roll call on Sunday, the company said.

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12 Comments
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This is a case where computer-assisted driving could have helped by monitoring the drivers gaze, detecting gaze failure, maintaining lane, braking safely, turning on the emergency lights, and contacting 110 and 119 simultaneously.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"The Shinki Bus Company said that the driver has no record of chronic disease and had undergone a medical examination in August. There were no abnormalities in his health then nor did he seem ill at the morning roll call on Sunday, the company said." Final conclusion, another overworked bus driver??

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Wow great reaction and fast response from the woman!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Great stuff. I wouldn't say she may have saved lives, she most likely did.

This had the potential to possibly be very tragic, very thankful that it was not the case. A runaway bus in any urban environment is something that most people shudder to think about.

I hope the driver recovers.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Good on her, need more people stepping in and getting involved.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

i know this experience. driver suddenly started sweating and removed his tie. he stopped quickly, then passed out. heart attack. he was a hero to me, he found a safe place to stop.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Wow two of these in a few weeks. Something is wrong.

Maybe, or maybe not. Two incidents are not enough to determine either way.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Wow two of these in a few weeks. Something is wrong.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

certainly all praise to the alert and capable passenger.

Seem to recall a couple of similar incidents recently.

I often wonder about the hours/mileages some coach drivers rack up.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Good on this woman! Well done! Hope the driver recovers.

19 ( +19 / -0 )

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