Fresh passenger attacks on Chinese bus drivers highlight scale of problem after fatal Yangtze crash
- At least 20 similar cases have been recorded this year, including two that happened after fatal river plunge in Chongqing
- Local authorities announce string of measures to stop similar incidents happening in future
A string of attacks on bus drivers across China have come to light after last month’s fatal Yangzte crash, including two fresh incidents at the end of last week.
The accident in Chongqing – which killed 15 people after a female passenger assaulted the driver, causing it to plunge into the river – has triggered a national bout of soul-searching over how to stop similar incidents happening in future.
In response to the incident a number of local authorities, including those in Chongqing, have instituted new penalties for attacks on drivers. Meanwhile the eastern city of Nanjing said all of its 8,000 public buses would be fitted with plastic screens to separate the driver from the passengers.
But as media outlets and social media users dug up a series of previous attacks on drivers, with at least 20 being recorded this year, the two latest cases only served to highlight the scale of the problem.
Video footage of the first incident in Xinyu in the eastern province of Jiangxi shows that a man tried to grab the steering wheel after the driver refused to stop midway between stops.
She immediately pulled the bus over to the side of the road and called the police, who detained the passenger.