1. A Good Driver Always Knows His Speed
On his first trip of four in the first half of a shift, a Bus Driver notices that his speedometer has stopped working. So, following Company procedure, he phones Control and informs them of this and that he is only a mile away from town, to where he was heading.
The (then) Controller orders the Driver to continue in service and finish his stint behind the wheel, even though there are eight speed cameras along the whole route; twenty-four in total for the rest of his shift.
"How can I continue when I don't know what speed I'm doing?" asked the Driver.
"A good Driver always knows his speed," the Controller replied.
"How will I know what speed I'd be doing?" the Driver asked.
"A good Driver always knows his speed," the Controller replied again.
I can only guess what speed I'd be doing. Guessing is not the same as knowing," the Driver pointed out.
"You will continue in service, the Controller insisted.
"What if I go past a speed camera and it goes off? It's me who gets the fine and points on my licence," the Driver countered. If I have an accident, in full knowledge that the speedo isn't working, maybe killing somebody because I guessed the wrong speed, I could be sent to prison."
"A good Driver always knows his speed," the Controller repeated, like a scratched record.
After hearing all of this, the shocked and appalled passengers got off the bus in town, commending the Driver for standing up to his bullying supervisor.
The Driver phoned Control again, was ordered to continue in service, refused and awaited repair or replacement of his bus.
For this, the Driver was "disciplined".
The Controller is now a manager at the depot...
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