The town's Transportation Board questioned the Chapel Hill Transit director this past week about the fatal October collision of a bus with a pedestrian.

Board members were concerned that bus driver James Willie Orr -- who was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle and has since been fired -- had eight previous accidents on the job.

"As a Transportation Board member, I know nothing more about that accident than what was printed in the paper," board member Roger Lundblad.

Transit Director Steve Spade said he could not provide much information because state law requires that personnel files remain confidential and town policy restricts the release of information in cases where legal action is possible.

But Spade did detail Chapel Hill Transit's efforts to prevent future pedestrian accidents.

Transit officials are comparing their policies to other transit systems' practices. McDonald Transit Associates is gathering information for a safety system audit, which will be shared with the Town Council early next year. The firm also provided "Pedestrian-Friendly Transit" training to employees, which concluded Wednesday.

Transit officials are also working on standards for the design and location of bus stops to improve safety at those locations.

Board members asked how older drivers are evaluated, given that Orr is 65.

Spade said every driver, regardless of age, must pass an N.C. Department of Transportation physical every two years, and its requirements are more rigorous than those facing other town employees.

The board also questioned the transit system's method of dealing with accidents.

"We'll determine, based on our standards of defensive driving, if the accident was preventable," Spade said. "It has nothing to do with any charges or lack of charges that come from the police."

He said drivers first receive a warning, a suspension and then are fired when repeat accidents occur. Some accidents require an immediate penalty beyond a warning.

"If the severity of something is so severe, and you think it warrants skipping a step, you can do that," Spade said. But policies do not mandate firings or other penalties because all disciplinary decisions depend on specific circumstances.

Lundblad said many factors outside the transit system played a role in the three bus-pedestrian accidents this year, and pedestrians are sometimes at fault.

"People don't recognize that buses are big things and they will hurt you," he said. He added that streets need to be safer as well, noting that the intersection of South Columbia Street and Manning Drive where a UNC student was killed by a bus in May is "one of the most dangerous areas I've ever seen."