Invasion of Privacy

[CanuckInUSA 0]

The head of the union representing Gatineau bus drivers wants the city's transit service to ban passengers from recording video on city buses, after one employee was caught on video doing paperwork while driving.

Felix Gendron, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union in Gatineau, said the driver's privacy rights were violated after a passenger shot video of him and posted it on YouTube.

The video shows the driver scribbling away on papers he had rested on a satchel on his lap while driving down Tache Boulevard in Gatineau. His hands rarely grip the steering wheel during the video's 57 seconds, and on several occasions his hands aren't on the wheel at all.

Read more about this here and watch the YouTube video here.

So what do you think? Do you agree with the union brass?
Is this an invasion of privacy to post a video of this bus driver?

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[Southern_Man 0]

Nope. He is in public and has no privacy expectations.

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[shropshire 0]

The union man is an arse.

The driver was not in private, he was doing a very public job ........ badly.

If the driver had been doing his job properly - he'd have nothing to worry about - but he wasn't and was in fact not driving in a safe manner and deserves to be shopped!!

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[quade 3]

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Nope. He is in public and has no privacy expectations.

Different countries feel VERY differently about this concept.

This was Canada. I don't know the laws in Canada about video taping a person without their permission.

That said, for me, the safety of others wins any argument over simple privacy. Legitimate whistleblower video, to me, is a justified in safety concerns.

Here in the US, however, you'll find that the food industry disagrees.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[skydiver30960 0]

A good example of a union going to bat for an employee, in all the wrong ways.

Tell them "I'm not shooting video, I'm taking stills at 30 frames per second!"

Elvisio "it's be worth a shot" Rodriguez

[jakee 1,257]

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The video shows the driver scribbling away on papers he had rested on a satchel on his lap while driving down Tache Boulevard in Gatineau. His hands rarely grip the steering wheel during the video's 57 seconds, and on several occasions his hands aren't on the wheel at all.

A few years ago I was in a taxi, on a motorway with a driver who had a compulsive tic where about every 30 seconds to a minute he would twich a few times then lift both hands of the wheel and smooth back the hair on the side of his head. I wish I had video of that. What made him think a job driving cars was a good idea?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[devildog 0]

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Nope. He is in public and has no privacy expectations.

This.

Same goes for cops that think the public shouldn't be taping them as well.

You stop breathing for a few minutes and everyone jumps to conclusions.

[quade 3]

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Nope. He is in public and has no privacy expectations.

This.
Same goes for cops that think the public shouldn't be taping them as well.

Again, it greatly depends on the laws of the country one is in.

In the US, you'd be 100% right, however, this wasn't in the US.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[lawrocket 3]

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Different countries feel VERY differently about this concept.

This is the key. Canada may be different that here in the US.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[quade 3]

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Different countries feel VERY differently about this concept.

This is the key. Canada may be different that here in the US.

Yes, and it appears they are.
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-8.6/

Obviously, I have very little knowledge of the intricacies of Canada law no matter where one would put a comma. However, it sure does appear as if Canada laws are quite different.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[kelpdiver 2]

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Different countries feel VERY differently about this concept.

This is the key. Canada may be different that here in the US.

well, see how long the rules stay that way after bus crashes.

The SanFran driver was video'd texting on her phone while driving. That hits a couple strikes - 1) CA has a law against it, 2) common sense and 3) our MUNI has quite a record for killing and crashing, paying on average 20M in settlements per year.

The outcry was predictable and the union didn't even try to suggest the suspension was unwarranted. However, two weeks later she was video'd driving again. Apparently what they said and what they actually intended to do were miles apart. But now they really had no choice but to fire the driver, and investigate the manager who put her back out on the bus.

The prevalence of video cameras - every smart phone has a one - is going to force the SC to settle this matter sooner than later. It's not like before where you had to carry a big and fairly conspicuous camcorder. Now you always have some sort of still or video device on your person. Cops and bus drivers and big money industries are trying to fight it by declaring their use illegal or without consent, but I just don't see how they can win with this for long. It's a transparent ploy to prevent them from getting caught doing what they want to do.