By Y S Chan
There is no shortage of lawmakers and laws in our country, and the same goes for road safety experts, rules, regulations and guidelines.
Likewise, there is no shortage of lawbreakers and people bending rules as enforcement is lacking and apathy reigns.
Following a bus crash in Genting Highlands in August 2013 that killed 37 people, the Independent Advisory Panel to the Minister of Transport made 51 recommendations but many have yet to be implemented.
If the relevant government agencies had been more resolute, the chances of an accident such as the recent tragic bus crash in Johor would have been greatly reduced.
The accident happened at 3.45am, when most people are in their deepest sleep, and drivers who feel sleepy tend to drive faster in order to stay awake.
The Muar district police chief said there was no attempt by the bus driver to slow down. An official of the company that operated the bus said there was supposed to be another driver on board.
The requirement for two drivers on board an express bus for long distance trips is likely to cause more accidents. Instead of one driver working on single shift in a day and having enough sleep, we may have two drivers spending two shifts a day in the bus, resulting in both being tired and sleepy.
Express buses should be fitted with in-cabin cameras that can relay video back to the bus companies’ offices for real-time monitoring. If the camera shows the driver getting sleepy, the control centre can remotely activate a buzzer to alert him. This kind of monitoring will also deter drivers from using their handphones for texting or prolonged conversations, which is a common practice among long distance bus drivers.
The SPAD Industrial Code of Practice Safety Programme for Buses was established in 2012. The maximum time for non-stop driving was set at four hours with a 30-minute break in between.
Earlier, in 2010, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health stated in is Occupational Safety and Health Industry Code of Practice for Road Transport Activities that there must be a minimum of 12 hours of rest before a driver begins a journey.
However, the term “rest” is ambiguous. Does it just mean “not working”? Can a person drive overnight without having slept on the day before? People who have had a good night’s sleep wake up fresh in the morning, and will have no trouble driving eight hours during the day with a 30-minute break in between. However, if a driver does not or cannot sleep during the day and is assigned to drive overnight, he will be extra sleepy.
As such, express bus operators who operate overnight runs on a regular basis should provide sleeping capsules at their premises and make sure the drivers bunk in during the day before driving at night.
This approach is better than banning overnight express bus services and makes the spare driver redundant.
Practical solutions are needed to overcome apathy when laws are inadequate or enforcement is lacking.
YS Chan is an FMT reader
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