Chinese bus driver scares passengers by playing mobile games on the highway

You’ve heard of texting while driving, certainly, but texting while gaming? That’s a new one. But that’s exactly what passengers on a long-distance bus in China are saying their driver was doing on a white-knuckle ride from Chongqing to Chengdu.

“I hadn’t been on the bus long when I discovered the driver was sending texts,” said Mr. Yang, one of the passengers. “During the drive, the bus driver repeatedly fiddled with his phone, using both hands to send text messages and play games […] It was my first time taking such a frightening trip; during the drive the driver was playing with his phone, but he was also playing with our lives.” The driver made use of two different phones during the trip; an old-school feature phone and a Samsung smartphone

The incident, which occurred during the recent National Day vacation in China, thankfully ended without anyone being injured. Yang reported it to traffic police, and the driver in question has apparently denied that he was gaming on his phone, but has admitted to taking both of his hands off the wheel to use it. His company says that he was so engrossed with his phone because his 90-year-old father is in the hospital and he was worriedly checking in with family members about it. Nevertheless, he’s been taken off driving duties while the case is under investigation.

It’s impossible to know for sure whether or not the driver really was playing games while driving (Mr. Yang insists that he was), but in case it doesn’t go without saying: don’t do that! We know there are lots of fun mobile games out there, but seriously, they can wait until you get home. Stay safe, people.

(via Tencent Games)