Aissatou Diallo’s bus driving skills raised early concerns, inquest hears

A file photo from Jan. 12, 2019, one day after an OC Transpo bus struck the canopy at Westboro Station. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIAArticle content

OC Transpo driver Aissatou Diallo’s two-hour training session on a double-decker bus in July 2018 raised serious concerns about her ability to handle the vehicle, the Westboro bus crash inquest has heard.

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Diallo’s personnel file was entered into evidence Monday, including an assessment of her lone training session on a double-decker.

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At the time, in 2018, OC Transpo drivers received a single day of training on double-decker buses with a few hours behind the wheel.

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Trainees now receive a minimum of eight hours of road training on both double-deckers and articulated buses.

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The inquest heard Diallo, in her training session, scored ones and twos on all of the relevant skills being assessed. A one meant the skill was performed improperly or unsafely, while a two meant the skill was performed safely, but needed improvement.

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Diallo received ones on her use of mirrors, turn signals, lane changes and reactions to traffic situations well ahead of her vehicle, a key defensive driving skill known as lead time. She received twos on more than a dozen other skills.

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Inquest counsel Alessandra Hollands asked Lindsay Toll, OC Transpo’s section manager of training and development, whether Diallo received any additional training on double-deckers in light of the number of issues identified in her on-road assessment.

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Toll said no specific double-decker training was offered, but he suggested some of the same issues would have been addressed in other parts of her driver training.

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The inquest also heard new details Monday about Diallo’s first accident as an OC Transpo driver, which occurred one month before the Westboro bus crash.

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The inquest heard Diallo was driving an articulated bus into St. Laurent Station on Dec. 10, 2018 on what was a cloudy, dry day when she struck a parked bus.

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An OC Transpo investigation found Diallo ascended a ramp onto the second level of St. Laurent Station. At the top of the ramp, after a sweeping left turn, she was supposed to continue straight towards the platform, but instead Diallo continued turning left, and T-boned a parked bus.

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“Basically, it looks like she lost control of the vehicle and turned to the left a little too long,” Toll said in describing the incident.