Does a bus driver have a duty of care to prevent a female passenger from falling out of her seat when the bus passes over a speed bump?

In Habib v. Jack, 2011 BCSC 399, the passenger, who was sensitive to motion due to a previous tailbone injury, presented no visible sign of disability when she boarded the bus. She positioned herself on the middle seat of the rear-most bench, which was slippery. When the bus travelled over a speed bump, the passenger became airborne briefly. Although she was not propelled out of her seat, her neck snapped forward and back. In dismissing the claim, Ross J. rejected the passenger’s assertion that the bus had been moving at an excessive speed as it went over the speed bump and concluded that the evidence demonstrated no breach of the driver’s high standard of care.

In Whey v. Halifax (Regional Municipality), 2005 NSSC 348, the passenger was thrown from her seat into the aisle as the right rear bus wheels wandered over the curb when the bus manoeuvred right. For much of the trip, the driver had been subjected to verbal abuse from a third party sitting at the front of the bus. The court found that the verbal attack had upset the driver, and that he had been careless and distracted by it as he took the corner at too fast a speed. Concluding, at para. 102, that the manner of driving did not fall within the category of normal “jerks, jolts, lurching or movements” of a public transit bus, the driver was held liable.