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KUALA LUMPUR: The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) is suspending the permits of 27
Transnasional express buses plying the East-North Sector effective Wednesday following accidents
involving buses of the company.
SPAD chief executive officer Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal in a statement here today said the
decision was taken after audits found the company did not monitor speed limits,and found that
Global Positioning System (GPS) for the buses were not functioning.
He said SPAD would also be taking stern action against the bus companies whose buses were
involved in accidents in Temerloh and Pekan, Pahang if they were found to have violated their
licensing conditions.
"It was made compulsory in 2010 that all express and tour buses must be equipped with GPS. This
was part of their licensing condition. Thus, each of the bus operator must ensure the GPS functions
properly.
"The circular on the implementation of SPAD's Safety-Industry Code of Practice (ICOP) for bus
operators issued last year makes it incumbent on them to ensure all aspects of driver management
and vehicle maintenance are done properly and on schedule," he said.
He said the circular also stressed on adhering to speed limits which was one of the critical elements
that had to be monitored by bus operators at all times.
He added that SPAD would not compromise with any bus operator who disregarded this (adherence
to speed limits).
"SPAD is also looking into the suitability of making it compulsory for commercial vehicles to install
black boxes," he said.
In the Pekan incident yesterday, a tourist was killed while 39 other passengers were injured after
their tour bus was involved in an accident at KM70 of the Kuantan-Segamat Highway.
On Monday, three passengers, including an 11-month old baby were seriously injured when an
express bus carrying 27 passengers was involved in an accident at KM116 of the East Coast Highway
near Temerloh.
On April 13, a double-decker Transnasional express bus from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Bharu, Kelantan
crashed at KM11, Jalan Bentong-Raub, killing three passengers and injuring 10 others. Bernama
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1024195
asleep", adding that most drivers tend to speed because they would otherwise feel sleepy.
The bus drivers I spoke with said most accidents tend to happen towards the end of a long journey
when the body is fatigued.
A lot of factors have been blamed for fatal express bus accidents but common sense dictates that a
sleepy driver is a major cause, and this seems to be ignored by the authorities and industry players.
In cases where the driver also gets killed in an accident, the authorities investigating the tragedy
can not determine the cause because a dead men tell no tales.
Malaysia's worst ever road accident occurred at 4.20am on Aug 13, 2007 when an express bus from
Johor Baru skidded and overturned near Bukit Gantang in Perak, killing 20 people including the
driver.
According to co-driver V. Veeraman, the driver Rohizan Abu Bakar, had driven 700km over nine
hours with only a brief break in between on that fateful day.
Although the two-driver regulation was in place then, it proved to be useless because, according to
Veeraman, he himself was fast asleep when the accident happened.
On Dec 26, 2009, 10 passengers died when the express bus they were travelling in crashed through
a guardrail near the Ipoh toll plaza. Driver Mohd Kamil Rashid told police he was sleepy at the time
of the crash. Being sleepy proved to be no defence as Mohd Kamil is now serving a four-year jail
sentence.
There is no excuse whatsoever for a co-driver, who is supposed to take over in the event the first
driver becomes tired or sleepy, to be fast asleep as in the Bukit Gantang tragedy.
The fact that this is still happening goes to show that bus companies have done little or nothing to
give their drivers a better deal.
To enhance road safety, the government set up a Road Safety Department a few years ago. But this
department has not been able to enforce the mandatory use of safety belts on board express buses,
despite the high death toll in crashes. If such regulations can be enforced on car drivers and
passengers, why not on express bus passengers and drivers?
I'm told that this is because many buses have plywood flooring which is not strong enough to
retrofit anchorage points for seat belts. This means that, although on the outside our express buses
look tough and modern, the flooring is not up to international standards and poses high safety risks.
The Transport Ministry should revisit this aspect given the vulnerability of these vehicles. It's also
time for another rule to enhance the status of bus drivers through more caring incentives.
Everyone must play their part in ensuring safe travel this festive season.
Azman Ujang is a former editor-in-chief of Bernama. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com