Bus Crash No More: blogs

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Sunday, October 10, 2010

In Loving Memory of Lee Nian Ning (1987-2008)

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Bukit Gantang carnage - Kong Choy pointing finger of blame at everybody except himself

Lim Kit Siang - 16 August 2007

Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy is pointing the finger of blame at everybody for the latest Bukit Gantang road carnage which killed 20 and injured nine except himself — when such horror road fatalities are not supposed to happen after the Kuala Lipis bus crash which claimed 14 lives and injured 26 people 45 months ago.

The Kuala Lipis road carnage happened in the first month of the premiership of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on 31st November 2003 and was the cause of a national hue-and-cry starting from the Prime Minister who demanded action by Chan to ensure that such tragedies do not recur.

Since then, there had not only been the road carnage at Km229 of the North-South Expressway near Bukit Gantang on Monday, but also the Nibong Tebal bus crash in July last year which left 11 dead and 35 injured among those on their way to the St. Anne’s Feast in Bukit Mertajam.

During the nation-wide hullabaloo led by the Transport Minister over the Kuala Lipis road carnage 45 months ago, I had warned the Prime Minister that his administration must learn from the expensive lessons of the past as to why the country had failed to end the road carnage on Malaysian roads which had wrought such great emotional and socio-economic havoc in terms of loss of human lives and economic costs to the community for the past 13 years.

I had expressed fears that “the latest bout of high-profile government and public concern about the high traffic accident rate and fatalities would not be another short-lived but quickly-forgotten “wonder” as had happened many times since 1990.

After the gruesome Karak Highway accident in 1990 which killed 17 people, a Cabinet Committee on Road Safety was formed with the specific target of reducing road fatalities by 30 per cent by the year 2000 based on 1989 figures.

However, the Cabinet Committee on Road Safety not only failed to meet its target of reducing road fatalities by 30 per cent by 2000 based on 1989 figures, the number of road fatalities sharply increased year after year and at one stage, reached 67 per cent higher than the 1989 fatalities instead of cutting it down by 30 per cent!

In 1989, the number of road fatalities stood at an all-time high of 3,773. If the Cabinet Committee on Road Safety had been on target, road fatalities would have progressively fallen until it was fully reduced to 30 per cent of the figure, or not more than 2,641 deaths, by 2,000. Instead, road fatalities increased by leaps and bounds in the 13 years since the establishment of the Cabinet Committee on Road Safety to cut down the death fatalities, registering 6,304 fatalities for 1996.

The total number of traffic fatalities since the establishment of the Cabinet Committee on Road Safety to reduce traffic accidents and fatalities in the 13 years from 1990 to 2002 was a most shocking toll of 70,749 human lives, while the number of injured totalled 537,689.

It is clear that among the root causes for the failure of the Cabinet Committee on Road Safety and the ever-worsening road carnage from 1990 to 2002 resulting in 70,000 avoidable deaths, over half a million injured and over RM70 billion economic losses to the country in the past 13 years were the double lack of political will and Ministerial accountability to end the avoidable road carnage on the roads.

There has been no change of this shocking scenario under the premiership of Abdullah — the abysmal double lack of political will and Ministerial accountability to end the avoidable road carnage on the roads.

This is why last year alone, there were 6,400 fatalities and about 300,000 accidents.

Since the Bukit Gantang carnage on Monday, the Transport Minister had been pointing the finger of blame at everybody except himself and the top government officials concerned.

At first, the public were told that the bus driver had two warrants of arrest against him and 13 outstanding summonses and that the bus company didn’t have a permit to ply the Johor Baru-Alor Star route. Then it was reported that the driver had “flouted almost every traffic rule” with checks revealing that the traffic summons issued to him could be more, with at least 39 other summons issued to three vehicles driven by him.

After the Kuala Lipis tragedy of Nov. 30, 2003, the Nibong Tebal and Bukit Gantang road carnages are not supposed to take place, if preventive measures outlined 45 months ago had been taken seriously by all relevant parties concerned, including by the Transport Minister regularly checking on the implementation of these measures.

There is no shortage of solutions to end the road carnage, only shortage of political will and accountability to enforce them.

A public inquiry must be held into the Bukit Gantang road carnage to inquire why the lessons from the Kuala Lipis bus crash which claimed 14 lives 45 months ago had not been learnt and for a public accounting of the authorities and individuals who must bear responsibility.

At present, Chan is pointing finger of blame at everyone except himself and the top public officials responsible for road safety — when everybody knows that he has lost all credibility, authority and legitimacy for this role for his Ministerial failings in the past 45 months.

He has made a shocking announcement of a new ruling after the Bukit Gantang carnage — the grounding of the entire fleet of buses when there is one fatal accident.

Is this a feasible and realistic solution or just a knee-jerk reaction, or worse, a proposal which is so outrageous that there would be another nation-wide uproar which would completely distract public attention from the responsibility and accountability of the Transport Minister and the top government officials for the continuing road carnage?

If one fatal accident and the entire fleet of buses will be grounded, is Chan prepared to also accept that one major road carnage like the Bukit Gantang tragedy and the Transport Minister submits his resignation?

How many more, how long more should we wait?

The Star Online - 14 August 2007

Posted by: Lye See Leow

I am deeply saddened by the recent bus tragedy. I am angry as well. How could this happen??? Those perished are people's lives!!

I was a very common bus commuter. The bus is one of the most common and cheapest ways of travelling. Not everybody can afford to buy airplane tickets, even if we have a low-budget air company now.

I mentioned "I was" earlier because now I take the flight for fear of safety. Paying a little more so that I can travel with peace of mind. Bus accidents and disasters have long been heard in the news but where and what are the authorities doing about this? How many more lives should be taken away before we can stop such incidents from happening??

We already know that there are buses "FLYING" especially on the North-South Highway. They are flying above 120km/h. They overtake even the speeding cars. And flying even faster at night. There are laws but is anything done to make sure the law is enforced??

Malaysia - we are talking about 25 million people, high-class transportation system, very efficient highway but still, people are being killed in such incidents which can be totally avoided if there's real enforcement of law and some common sense.

Even in normal everyday driving to work, back home, many people drive thinking for themselves, stepping on the accelerator before the traffic light is about to turn yellow ... which to me, is extremely dangerous. Please sacrifice some minutes to wait for your turn, please value other people's lives, please drive not only for yourself but for others too. Please act unselfishly.

- People asked the question 'How many more, how long more should we wait?' Today, 6 months after the tragic bus accident of Bukit Gantang, 3 more precious lives were killed. Again, how many more, how long more should we wait until actions are taken?

Better Bus Travel for all

The Star Online - 15 August 2007

Posted by: jason_kua

What a pity, lives have been lost again when something could have been done. How many families are mourning over lost loved ones yet again. Did the police, RTD or Puspakom drop the ball? Enforcement at best is hodge-podge with even both the police and the RTD at it. Manpower constraints are often cited but when an accident occurs doesn't the country lose manpower too. The recent horrific bus accident will serve wake up call to the authorities to buck up. No one is pointing any fingers but I hope that they realise that they shoulder some of the responsibility not just the bus driver.

In their defence I would like to say, bus drivers are human too. They are being pushed to the limit of their endurance to ply up and down the NSE by their companies. Before the co-driver rule was introduced, the had to go at it solo. It must be clear that passenger's safety and not profit, must always be top priority. Rather let them be late then never arriving at all. I too have sat on the terror ride bus from Melaka before and count myself lucky to still be here to tell the story. For all our sakes let us learn from this tragedy before it strikes again, don't wait until it strikes close to home.

Have adequate breaks for the drivers, make sure they get a proper rest before letting them back on the road again. Have more frequent inspections of the buses and remove buses that have passed their prime to ensure safety. Do a background check on all bus drivers, currently employed and candidates. Make sure our highways are safe and well lit because they too factor in. Make bus travel safe for all.

Who says corruption does not kill?

The Star Online - 17 August 2007

Posted by: ongvalen

After the bus accident, many were quick to point fingers at the bus company bosses. But have you wondered about other possibilities. Perhaps it could be - CORRUPTION, is it possible?

Let's explore a bit. Why is the bus still on the road despite so many summons? Doesn't it require annual checks? OK, even if the company didnot send it to for checking, still it should be proactive and inform the police to be on look out for this bus number. Then during road blocks, the police would then tow the bus away. Instead what did they do? They issue summons like concert tickets. The Govt agencies should visit the company premises and conduct surprise checks on the fleet of buses. There are so many actions they can take, instead of just issuing summons. Is it effective? You can issue up to 3 summons but if there is still no action, then they should take the next level of action.

So, it is possible, right? The only thing is there is no proof because it is often paid in cash or paid indirectly or through the maintenance contractors. Moreover noone wants to appear in court to testify.

So, it is perfectly possible that due to corruption, so many people have died! CORRUPTION KILLS!!! But I am not accusing anyone here, just exploring possibilities. Perhaps there is no corruption...I don't know. What do you think?

A tragedy that should never have occured

The Star Online - 17 August 2007

Posted by: drchris

Act fast to prevent further mishaps

The whole nation was shocked and aghast at the news of Bukit Gantang bus tragedy at the wee hours of August 13 2007.Twenty people were killed in the tragic accident. We are now told that the 37-year old driver of the ill fated bus had numerous summonses and even warrants of arrest for various traffic offenses committed over the last 6 years.

It is very clear that he should have been suspended and taken off the roads long time ago. Why was that not done? It has also been revealed that the bus too was not road worthy. How is that it was still on the roads? How did it pass through the annual inspections that are mandatory? These are some pertinent questions to which we need to find honest answers.

It is easy now to point the finger at the driver who also lost his life in the tragedy. He might have his faults but the enforcement authorities and bus operators too should take their share of the blame and owe the public an explanation and apology. There is no doubt that the complacency and irresponsibility on their part has resulted in the unnecessary loss of 20 lives.

Imagine the immense sorrow and misery that these deaths have inflicted the families of these victims. It is dreadful to imagine that many among them could have been the sole bread winners. How many children would have lost their parents in the mishap? These deaths should never have occurred if only the authorities responsible had acted diligently according the trust placed in them by the people at large.

It is frightening to know that there may be many more such irresponsible drivers and buses plying our highways everyday. They are nothing but potential "death traps" waiting to snap at anytime. The authorities must act fast to take these dangerous "death traps" off our roads before more people lose their lives. The transport ministry must be firm in ensuring that bus operators adhere strictly to all the safety regulations that govern them.

Butterworth

Sunday, October 10, 2010

In Loving Memory of Lee Nian Ning (1987-2008)

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Bukit Gantang carnage - Kong Choy pointing finger of blame at everybody except himself

How many more, how long more should we wait?

Better Bus Travel for all

Who says corruption does not kill?

A tragedy that should never have occured

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