Video Exclusive
RAILWAY SLEEPER
After Croydon tram crash kills seven shocking video emerges showing driver SLEEPING at wheel while doing 40mph on same line
A TRAM driver has been caught on camera sleeping at the wheel while doing 40mph on the same track as the Croydon disaster.
The film emerged as the line reopened after a crash that killed seven passengers.
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Shocked tram passengers looked on in horror as they saw their driver sleeping at the wheel on the same track as the Croydon tragedy.
The man was filmed as the rush-hour service carrying 50 people was doing 40mph.
He nods off just two stops and three miles from the bend where seven passengers died in a crash last week.
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He is seen struggling to remain upright in his seat as the tram heads to New Addington, South London.
Tonight the passenger who took the frightening footage said: “I was incredulous when I saw him.
“I did a few double takes.
It was the most surreal thing
“There is a lady you can hear — another commuter — who noticed I was filming so she had a look.
“She was shocked too.
“It was the most surreal thing because the tram is zooming along and the driver seems to be falling asleep.
“It seemed like he had perfected the art and knew when the next stop was approaching to wake up.
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“He reminded me of someone who dozes off in a meeting — except if you doze off in a meeting you are not killing anyone.
“If you are in charge of 50 plus lives and you’re that exhausted it’s a dangerous thing.
“He would nod off and then jolt back up near the stops.
“It’s a downhill stretch and it felt to me like the train was going too fast.”
The 33-second video comes as a grave embarrassment for tram operator FirstGroup and Transport For London — still reeling from the disaster.
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The dozing driver was filmed over a distance of about half a mile between Coombe Lane and Gravel Hill stations just after 6pm on April 21.
The tram was travelling in the opposite direction to the one that crashed.
It had already passed through the Sandilands turn where the tragedy occurred.
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A shocked female passenger urges the man filming: “Send it off to TFL.”
Then, sounding more worried as the next stop draws near, she asks: “Is he going to stop the tram?!”
A male voice is heard telling her the tram is automated.
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To verify the location, The Sun visited the area and identified a row of white-coloured sacks containing gravel at trackside which is seen 12 seconds into the film.
Other clues to the location include a metal fence, part of a tree trunk and a blue dual- carriageway sign on the A212 running parallel to the line.
A row of red-bricked houses are also seen to the driver’s left while hedgerows and a long strip of grass match the same stretch.
The line has a maximum speed limit of 50mph.
We calculated the tram was doing at least 40mph.
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The identity of the driver is not known.
The passenger who shot the video never made a formal complaint but decided to make his video public to prevent further tragedy.
He said: "At the time I didn't want the guy to lose his job.
"Then when the accident happened, there were reports that driver may have fallen asleep and there were enquiries into the wider safety practices.
"I thought this video might be of interest and I felt obliged to bring it to light.”
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Trams are designed to shudder to a halt whenever a driver loses grip of the “deadman’s handle”.
If pressure is not maintained on the handle, a rod that is typically attached to its bottom triggers a switch in the tram’s mechanics.
When this happens, the handle propels up.
The brakes are then applied and an emergency alarm goes off.
One former driver, who did not want to be identified said: “If he did fall asleep, I don’t think he is entirely to blame — the working conditions are responsible.
“The way the shifts work doesn’t allow drivers to get a regular sleep pattern.
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“When I was a driver we worked seven days and then got four off.
“We’d then work seven days again before getting two days off and then work two days for one day off.
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“It was crazy. You could have a week of early starts, at say 3.45am, then a week of lates finishing at 2am
“At the Therapia Lane tram depot there were three vending machines and the only drink available in one of them was Red Bull — that tells you everything you need to know.”
The Croydon service resumed yesterday — nine days after a two-carriage tram derailed — killing one woman and six men.
It was doing 43.5mph in a 12.5mph speed restriction zone when it flipped onto its right side and continued for a further 80ft.
Driver Alfred Dorris, 42, of Beckenham, South London, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and bailed until May.
TFL said: “We are urgently investigating this film and have asked First Group, who operate the tram network, to take all necessary action and report back to us.
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FirstGroup said: “We have not seen this video before and it will be subject to a full investigation.
“If the situation is as it appears then this is completely unacceptable and appropriate action will be taken.”
The company has denied claims that its shift patterns have left drivers exhausted.
For more on tram story tune in today
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