SILVER SPRING, Md. - Pictures taken by a Ride On bus passenger in Montgomery County (web | news) appear to show the driver reading a book while behind the wheel. ABC 7's Richard Reeve spoke exclusively with the woman who took the photos.

The woman, who does not want to be identified, says she took the photos because she feared for her life. She said she got on the bus only to see the driver reading while operating the bus.

The woman, described as a 34-year-old resident of Silver Spring, took the photos while riding Montgomery County Ride On bus no. 38 Friday night.

"I was hoping we weren't going to get in any accident or hit another car, or end up on the sidewalk or something," the passenger said.

The woman says she uses the service nearly everyday and got on at Nicholson Lane in Rockville. She says while riding the bus for 20 minutes or more, the operator continued to drive and read.

"She was looking down for awhile, then would glance up, look down - I couldn't believe it," the passenger said.

The passenger says the bus would veer out of its lane occasionally and then the driver would straighten it out. While riding, one rider reportedly tried to get the driver's attention unsuccessfully by saying out loud, "Is she reading?" Still, the passenger ABC 7 News spoke with says no one confronted the driver directly.

The incident comes just one week after the discovery of a YouTube video that shows a Metrorail operator texting on his cell phone while the train was in motion. That operator was suspended for five days. And starting Monday, Metro says it will be a firing offense.

"I mean God forbid... that's very dangerous to do that," said Mollita Gaskin, Ride On bus passenger.

Ride On passengers who saw the photos given exclusively to ABC 7 say they are concerned. 

"If it happened to one bus driver, it could happen again," said Darryl McCant. 

"It's terrible," said a Rockville bus passenger. "You should be focusing on driving -- not reading a book!"

Passenger Urna Mackie said she is "extremely surprised and horrified that this should be happening."

Rider Todd Moreland thinks this driver may be an unusual case. "Drivers I've seen have all been, as far as I know, very cautious drivers. They do their job well. That's surprising," Moreland said.

"This is not acceptable... you have passengers on the bus. It's not just your life, it's other passengers as well," argued another passenger. 

But not everyone thinks the driver should lose her job over the matter. "They should educate them -- I don't think she should be fired though. [They should educate drivers] on programs and ways to let her know this [isn't] good," said Koby Boakye, a Rockville resident. 

Reading while driving has been a violation of county policy since 2004.

On Sunday, Ride On Bus General Manager Carolyn Biggins says the incident is unacceptable. The county executive office is also investigating, saying the drivers are specifically trained not to read while driving. They say this could be a fireable offense.

As of Monday, county spokesperson Patrick Lacefield said while the female driver is still at work, she's not behind the wheel.

"This driver is no longer driving for the Ride On system," said Lacefield. 

He added, "There are very few agencies across the country that have a 'one strike and you're out' policy."

Lacefield did note that the county will take strong and appropriate action if the investigation proves the rider was reading and driving.

Councilwoman Nancy Floreen, who chairs the county transportation committee, says this is a big problem that needs to be addressed, assuming the information is accurate. "If this is indeed what it purports to reflect, a bus driver not attending to the road, I'm just so distraught," Floreen said. "If this information is accurate, we've got a big problem that we need to solve."

Operator attentiveness has become a more pressing issue since a June 22 Metrorail crash that killed nine people. Although it has been determined that the operator of the striking train in that crash was not using a cell phone, incidents in other states -- including a train crash in California that killed 25, in which the train operator was determined to be texting -- have focused a spotlight on transit workers.

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