The driver was fired because he was dropping off some students outside their homes for safety reasons. Supported by the parents of the students, he will seize the prud’hommes.
A school bus driver from Haute Vienne has just been fired for serious misconduct after 17 years of service in the Billanges sector, near Limoges. His company, the company Europ Voyages, cites the following reason for the dismissal: the driver, Damien Tabard, had got into the habit of dropping off some college students in front of their homes. According to the driver, he was doing it for safety reasons. Some children were obliged otherwise to walk several hundred meters in the evening, without lights, along roads considered dangerous. “Wild” stops, which if they were not part of the official route, did not deviate him from his route. According to Damien Tabard, interviewed by local journalists from Le Populaire du Centre, these stops were previously tolerated. “I was told, use your common sense. Until this year (…) It was inconceivable to let children take risks.”
The parents of the college students concerned plan to file a complaint against the company for endangering the lives of others. This is the case of Christelle Nozière. A resident of the town of 300 inhabitants who testifies for the local newspaper. “My daughter, a 12-year-old schoolgirl, had to walk 650 meters in the dark on a municipal road, without sidewalks or markings on the ground. She had to walk in the ditches to get home”. The driver who has just been sacked had therefore taken to dropping it off in front of his home, located exactly on its circuit. In the region, the rule is simple. If the child’s home is less than one kilometer from the initial stop, no new stop is created. Christelle Nozière, who had nevertheless made the request, heard herself answer “we are not going to pick up the children from their beds”.
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The driver knew he was facing penalties
When the driver received the letter announcing his dismissal on November 28, he was not surprised. He had known for a long time that he was exposing himself to sanctions. His employer, Europ Voyage, resumed service on this line in September, and did not show the same flexibility as the former managers for these additional stops. The driver still persistedrefusing to leave the children alone.
“For me it doesn’t matter after all, I will find a job, we are looking for drivers everywhere. But it pains me to leave children that I loved. I wanted them to be safe. It’s hard to leave a child alone on the road. Like forcing a mum with a stroller and her baby to walk along a dangerous path to reach a stop while my bus passes right in front of their house. The manager of the company, Maxime Trossat, mentions other reasons leading to this final decision. “When I asked him not to bring the children home anymore, he insulted me. He did not respect the relationship of subordination.”