A new case of violence against bus drivers has occurred in Lanzarote. Last Sunday, August 31, a driver on Line 03, which covers the route between Costa Teguise and Puerto del Carmen, was the target of insults as soon as a passenger boarded the vehicle at the IES Puerto del Carmen stop. According to the complaint, the traveler immediately addressed the worker calling him "son of a bitch", in retaliation because the day before he was not allowed to travel with a glass of beer.
The climate of tension increased during the journey and, upon arriving at the Cañana Alta stop, the driver asked the passenger to leave the bus due to his attitude. It was then that the individual grabbed him by the neck and pushed him against an interior wall, with his fist closed in a threatening attitude. Only the intervention of another user managed to stop the physical aggression, although the driver ended up with abrasions on his neck, pain in the lumbar region and the tie of his uniform torn off. The Local Police of Tías identified the aggressor at the scene.
"As a consequence of the grab on the neck", the tie that is part of the guagüero's uniform was torn off by the defendant, which was rendered unusable.
This new attack, which began with a direct and violent insult, has reopened the debate on the safety of public transport workers in the Canary Islands. The Occupational Health Committee of Arrecife Bus is demanding the urgent application of the User Regulations approved in July by the Cabildo of Lanzarote, which contemplates sanctions of up to 6,000 euros and specific measures to protect both drivers and passengers.
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