Greyhound driver suspected of texting on I-95

CENTER CITY (WPVI) -- A Greyhound bus driver has been taken off the job, pending an investigation into his habits behind the wheel.

That driver was apparently caught on camera texting behind the wheel en route to Philadelphia.

Cell phone video was captured by a Greyhound passenger on Tuesday as he rode in the front of a bus on Interstate-95 northbound through Maryland from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia.

The passenger Andrew Timmons, Jr. says he recorded the driver texting while driving up the highway.

"He was gliding over. He was like changing lanes without signaling. It was like if you're drifting over to the other lane. Then he pulled out his phone and started texting, and that's when I turned the video on, and watched him text while the phone was in his lap," Timmons said.

Timmons says the driver was texting for a least 1 minutes of which he managed to record 34 seconds. Timmons says he has had his commercial driver's license for over 20 years. He now works for the metro system in Washington. He told me he learned his lesson while working in Philadelphia several years ago when he was caught driving while talking on the telephone.

At that time he gave me just a warning, and now it's really strict. Some companies have a zero tolerance when it comes to the phones," Timmons said.

Timmons says the rules are even stricter now with proliferation of social media, and working cameras are now considered to be standard inside all motor coaches. A team of Greyhound managers immediately contacted their corporate office in Texas when we showed them our copy and the still picture of the bus number Timmons gave us.

"You're not supposed to be using our phones when we're driving. Anyone with CDL, you're not supposed to be using your phones. He had 50 something people's lives in his hand, and he was on the phone texting," Timmons said.

Late Wednesday, Greyhound issued this statement:

We are surprised to learn about this situation and we are taking this matter very seriously. The safety of our customers is the cornerstone of our business, and we don't condone drivers using their mobile devices while driving for any reason. We are currently investigating the situation, and the driver will be removed from service until the investigation is complete.

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