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A veteran OC Transpo driver says the company specifically warns double-decker operators to beware of Transitway overhangs.

Drivers take special training to operate the double-deckers like the one that crashed into Westboro Station during Friday’s afternoon commute, killing three people and injuring another 23. It is among the worst accidents in the history of the city’s transit system.

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“The first thing they taught us was stay the hell away from the structures at the stations because you’re not going to clear them,” said the operator, speaking on condition that he not be named, for fear of losing his job. “We’re actually taught to board passengers further out from the curb than we normally would.”

The driver pointed out that the overhangs, which appear to be made from tubular steel, have even caused problems for single-level buses because they protrude so close to the road.

In 2003, a regular Route 86 bus, slammed into the overhang at Lees Station and tore open the roof. Six passengers were treated for injuries and bystanders said it was a miracle no one was killed when the steel frame gouged the bus.

In 2003, a single-level OC Transpo bus crashed into a shelter at Lees station on the Transitway. No one was seriously injured in that crash.Though Friday’s crash is still under investigation, it was evident from photos that the westbound bus, Route 269, struck the overhanging canopy just above the floor on the second deck, making upper-level passengers especially vulnerable.

Photo by David Kawai / Postmedia

Postmedia spoke to a number of drivers Saturday who had different opinions about the double-deckers, which were first introduced to the fleet in about 2009.

The first problem with the eye-catching buses was slightly comical: they wouldn’t fit through the doors of the garage OC uses for safety certification.

In 2012, a problem developed with exhaust fumes leaking into the cabin. One driver became so ill from the fumes he was hospitalized.

That same year, a problem with excessive condensation was detected in December when water droplets began falling on drivers and passengers on the first level.