Winnipeg Transit union calls for psychological help for drivers after crash

The president of the union representing Winnipeg Transit drivers is calling for more support for bus drivers to help with the emotional stress of the job after a crash between a bus and a small car early Friday left the driver of the car suffering critical injuries.

Aleem Chaudhary, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, said the driver of the bus involved in the crash — which happened on Osborne Street near Carlaw Avenue around 1:40 a.m. — is taking time away from the job to deal with the psychological effects.

"It's one of the biggest fears that every bus driver has," he told CBC News. "Our biggest fear here is driving a big bus and hurting somebody, or in the worst case scenario, somebody getting killed by a bus."

Chaudhary said the driver, who has roughly three years of service with Winnipeg Transit, was treated and released from hospital shortly after the crash. 

He spoke to the driver later in the day Friday, and says other than a few minor injuries, he is physically OK.

But it's taken a toll on him emotionally, says Chaudhary.

"He's at home resting, but mentally and psychologically, I guess you could say, he's hurt," said Chaudhary. "He was not able to sleep all night."

Head-on crash

Chaudhary says the driver told him he was heading northbound on Osborne Street — about half a block away from the garage — when a car weaved out of its lane coming toward him.

"(The driver) was drifting into his lane and right away he put his brakes on and leaned on the horn, but unfortunately to no avail, he was not able to react in any other way to avoid the accident because trying to get a bus out of the way is a pretty hard thing to do," he said. "This is something that's hard to live with, even if it's not your fault."

There were no passengers on the bus at the time of the crash, which snarled morning traffic as police closed the street in both directions and investigated for several hours.

Chaudhary says the next time the union goes into negotiations with the city, they'll work to have a psychologist or a counsellor made available to members to help deal with the stress of the job.

"I think we need to have a better system put into place where we are able to help our fellow members," he said. "Because not only this case, but there are many other cases where there's assaults and so on and so forth where there's psychological injuries that we don't realize."