“The People on the Bus Go Help, Help, Help . . .”: Honolulu Police Arrest Drunk Bus Driver

Bus authorities have finally taken Searle Pestana, 61, off the road in Hawaii. However, it was not the two prior drunk driving convictions that convinced the Honolulu city bus company that he was not ideal for driving passengers. It was the weaving with the bus and the sideswiping of a tree that finally did it.

Passengers on Pestana’s bus were a bit worried when he swerved on the roads and kept on driving after hitting a tree. They called police who arrest Pestana, who flunked a sobriety test with a 0.18 reading — twice the legal limit. He has been driving for the city for 36 years but was arrested for DUI in 2000 and 2002.

Oahu Transit Services President Roger Morton insisted, “I’m not only surprised, I’m shocked. . . . Public safety is our first concern. We take drugs and alcohol very seriously. We don’t tolerate their use in the workplace.” Well, when your detection system requires passengers to frantically call police while careening around in a bus with a drunken bus driver, it may be time to tweak your policies and practices a bit.

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