A 40-year-old TriMet bus driver in Portland, Oregon is on administrative leave after a passenger filmed him reading a Kindle while he was driving.
The passenger in question – who wishes to remain anonymous – decided to start filming when saw the driver, Lahcen Qouchbane, reach into his bag, pull out a Kindle and set it on the dashboard. The passenger said that it appeared that Qouchbane read throughout the entire journey, even when he was driving downtown. Elsewhere in the short video Qouchbane can be seen demonstrating his elbow driving skills and changing pages.
After exiting the bus, Qouchbane allegedly confronted the passenger:
When I departed the bus, he asked if I took his picture while he was driving. I said I had, and he responded that I was not allowed to take his photo while he was driving.
Qouchbane, who has been a driver with TriMet for about 10 years has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.
Embedded video below.
[KGW]
