KENT COUNTY, Mich. -- A Kent County man recorded a GO!Bus from The Rapid driving in excess of 80 miles per hour down southbound US 131, this week.
The man, who asked to be identified as Rob, admitted he was already driving a little faster than the speed limit. Rob said that's why the bus's speed stood out to him.
"I sped up to pace the vehicle, and that's when I started filming it to get how fast he's going off of my speedometer," he recalled.
Rob said no one should drive that fast and reckless, especially in a commercial vehicle. He felt the driver should be held accountable.
In a statement to FOX 17 on Tuesday, The Rapid said the following:
"We were made aware of this situation yesterday and had already initiated an investigation with MV Transportation, the contracted service provider for the GO!Bus service. Based on vehicle tracking capabilities, the vehicle was speeding and at times reached 85 miles per hour on the highway. We expect MV drivers to follow the same safety standards as our Rapid bus operators, including following all posted speed limits, and have made this clear to MV management. We are awaiting their response." Jennifer Kalczuk, External Relations Manager
On Wednesday, private contractor MV Transportation issued this statement:
"At MV Transportation, the safety of our riders, employees and the general public is our number one priority. When this incident was brought to our attention, we immediately removed the driver from service and began an internal investigation. As a result, the driver has been disciplined and is being retrained on our safety and driver protocols, including supervised on-the-road observation. All drivers have been reminded to observe and obey all speed limit signs, and the video of this speeding incident is now being used in all driver training and retraining classes." Nikki Frenney, VP of Communications
FOX 17 reached out to the Grand Rapids Police Department for a law enforcement perspective on the video. The department said the person recording the bus put himself and others at risk. It's an example of distracted driving. Instead of recording the speeding bus, the driver should have called the local police department and the organization.
