Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Entire bus fleet suspended after fatal accident

PUTRAJAYA: The Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board (CVLB) has suspended for one month all eight buses belonging to AB Express Sdn Bhd after an audit showed it had failed to comply with travel safety related procedures and neglected training its drivers.

CVLB chairman Datuk Markiman Kobiran said the board had conducted an audit after one of the company’s express buses crashed near Rawang last April 13, killing six people.

Initial investigations found that the bus driver Fauzi Mohammed, 34, had eight summonses for speeding, while co-driver Zulkhibri Md Saad, 35, had six summonses and five arrest warrants for the same offence.

Among the board’s findings that led to the suspension, said Markiman, were AB Express’ failure to comply with several procedures under the Safety, Health and Environment Code of Practice (SHE).

He said in a statement that the company failed to produce records as required under SHE to prove it had taken any action with regard to the safety of the buses, travel risk management and the management of its drivers and the fines issued to them.

During the suspension (from yesterday till June 3), the company’s top management must attend courses on SHE organised by the Malaysian Institute for Road Safety Research and the Occupational Safety and Health Department (DOSH).

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