The Star Online - 19 August 2007
KUALA LUMPUR: The Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) will introduce special cards for express bus drivers.
Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the cards containing their particulars would be displayed in buses to enable passengers to file complaints against errant drivers.
The CVLB reserves the right not to issue passenger service vehicle (PSV) licences to bus drivers against whom many complaints have been lodged, he said yesterday.
Khaled said the move would enable CVLB to trace the background and previous job experience of bus drivers as well as information on bus companies they used to work for.
“When the licence is revoked, then the bus driver concerned would not be allowed to move to another express bus company,” he said.
CVLB director Naimah Ramly said the agency had called Syarikat Kenderaan Bukit Gantang Sdn Bhd for a meeting on Tuesday.
The company operated the express bus that crashed on Aug 13, killing 21 people.
The company, which has 34 buses, has been issued with a notice to suspend operations. – Bernama
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
CVLB cards for express bus drivers
JPJ to conduct checks at bus terminals
The Star Online - 25 August 2007
By CHAN LI LEEN
TAIPING: Officers from the Road Transport Department (JPJ) will be stationed at all express bus terminals permanently to check vehicles and drivers before departures.
JPJ enforcement director Salim Parlan said the buses would not be allowed to leave the terminals if they fail to meet safety standards.
"If the drivers and co-drivers are not qualified or fit to make the journey, they too will be grounded,” he said at the Bukit Gantang rest area on the North-South Expressway near here Saturday.
He said the department’s enforcement officers had been stationed at all bus terminals with express bus services since the launching of Ops Bersih on Wednesday.
“Right now, we are operating from makeshift booths at the terminals but soon these will become permanent offices where passengers can also lodge complaints,” he said.
At least four officers would be stationed at the terminals with more during holidays and festive seasons, he said, adding that a meeting would be held on Tuesday with state enforcement chiefs and branch heads to get feedback on their needs and the number of officers required.
On the scope of inspections, Salim said his officers would go through the drivers’ logbooks to make sure that none of them had driven continuously for more than three hours.
“It is also to make sure that the drivers are assisted by co-drivers, have valid driving licences, do not have any outstanding summonses and are free from the influence of drugs,” he added.
As for buses, he said they would be scrutinised for technical failures that could lead to road accidents.
“The department has already asked for more manpower from the Public Services Department,” he said, adding that some 2,600 officers were involved in Ops Bersih.
Since the launch of the joint operation, he said the department has inspected a total of 4,781 vehicles nationwide and taken action against 363 vehicle owners with 790 summonses issued.
He said 26 drivers and passengers of vehicles were found to be under the influence of drugs.
Salim advised the public to report unscrupulous express bus operators who hike up their fares to the department at its 24-hour hotline 03-88866412 or call him directly at 019-2261214.
CVLB backs jail move
The Star Online - 23 August 2007
By SIRA HABIBU
ALOR STAR: Laws should be amended to jail chief executive officers and directors of bus companies that ignore safety rules, Commercial Vehicle Licencing Board (CVLB) chairman Datuk Markiman Kobiran said.
He said yesterday it was high time the bosses in transportation companies were taken to task.
“Revoking the permit alone under the existing law is not good enough. Bus company CEOs and directors who fail to impose safety measures should be liable to jail sentence.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy had said recently that the Cabinet had given the nod to hold CEOs of bus companies accountable for safety standards, hiring and training of drivers and fleet management.
It was reported yesterday that during a recent inquiry into the bus crash that killed 22 people near Taiping last week, a director of the bus company could not produce the drivers’ safety manual that showed drivers’ competence and courses taken.
Markiman said he would propose amendments to the existing CVLB Act to enable prosecution of bus company CEOs and directors.
He also said that there was a need to create a better interactive system among the various agencies for better enforcement.
He said it would be good to have a centralised information system where data is made accessible to all the relevant agencies such as CLVB, the police, Road Transport Department (JPJ) and Puspakom.
Puspakom CEO Datuk Salamat Wahit said all the new policies adopted by the Cabinet relating to bus structure that met the R66 ECE (Economic Commission for Europe) standard, would be implemented immediately.
Five agencies in blitz on errant buses
The Star Online - 23 August 2003
KUALA LUMPUR: Five major agencies have swung into action to bring to book errant bus companies and their drivers throughout Peninsular Malaysia.
Ops Bersih, involving the Road Transport Department (JPJ), police, Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board (CVLB), Puspakom and Immigration Department, saw officials checking on buses and drivers at major stations and along highways yesterday.
The joint campaign will continue until the end of the Hari Raya holidays in October, on the instructions of Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy, said JPJ director-general Datuk Ahmad Mustapha Abdul Rashid.
Ops Bersih will include:
- Round-the-clock enforcement counters at all major bus stations, manned by the JPJ and traffic police, to check on buses and drivers before they begin their journeys and at the next stop;
- Prohibiting buses from travelling until summonses are paid;
- Further static checks and roadblocks at 15 areas along the highways;
- Urine tests on drivers and co-drivers;
Police, JPJ, CVLB and Puspakom records to be updated with latest data on summonses and warrants of arrest;
Buses must conform to international rigidity standard;
On-the-spot one-month suspension on buses and commercial vehicles which fail Puspakom checks thrice in a row; and,
Prohibiting renewal of licences and permits until all summonses are settled in court.
Quick joint action
Police
Officers from the traffic and narcotics departments will conduct operations with JPJ officers on highways and at bus stations. They will check for unpaid and outstanding summonses and arrest warrants. Urine tests will also be conducted on the drivers.
Immigration Department
Immigration officers will also be involved to check on foreigners posing as Malaysian drivers and illegal immigrants riding on the buses.
Puspakom
Bus manufacturers were informed on Tuesday that they must build buses which adhere to the “R66 Commission of European Countries” construction standards, of which Malaysia is a signatory. Commercial vehicles which fail to undergo checks three times in a row will be blacklisted by the JPJ and CVLB through an online system.
JPJ
Its officers will man roadblocks on the highways to check on bus drivers' licences and vehicle permits. Round-theclock counters will also be set up at bus stations to check the drivers from the moment they begin their journeys until they stop at their destinations.
Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board
This agency will check on the validity of the drivers' Public Service Vehicle licences.
Errant bus operators and drivers targeted
The Star Online - 23 August 2007
By ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN
JPJ implements Ops Bersih
PUTRAJAYA: Ops Bersih has been launched to “clean up” errant bus companies and drivers.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy ordered the Road Transport Department (JPJ) yesterday to take immediate steps to ensure that no more lives were lost or people injured in accidents involving buses.
Ops Bersih, which was supposed to start on Monday, was brought forward following the latest bus express accident in Kelantan on Tuesday.
Roadblocks will be set up at 15 locations nationwide until midnight on Aug 30.
The locations are at JPJ enforcement offices in Bukit Bunga (Kelantan); Air Sejuk and Kijal (Terengganu); Paya Rambutan East Coast Highway; Benta and Maran (Pahang); Tenang and Jamaluang (Johor); and other major bus routes like Sanggang (Pahang), the Bukit Gantang and Tapah expressway rest area (Perak); Juru toll plaza (Penang); Sungai Besi toll plaza (Kuala Lumpur); Senawang (Negeri Sembilan); and Yong Peng (Johor).
JPJ director-general Datuk Ahmad Mustapha Abdul Rashid said the message to bus drivers and operators was that the JPJ was serious about the safety of road-users.
He added his officers would continue with the operations to ensure that bus and commercial vehicle drivers adhered to the speed limit, carried valid operating permits and licences, and vehicles were in good condition according to the Motor Vehicle Rules.
On the counters at bus stations, he said officers would check the licences of the first and second drivers of the buses and the roadworthiness of buses, while the police would conduct urine tests.
“There are cases where the bus will have a second-driver at the point of departure, but one of them will alight somewhere into the journey,” he said.
Ahmad Mustapha said bus drivers should not drive more than eight hours within a 24-hour period, cannot drive for four continuous hours or more than 300km within the four-hour period.
He said bus drivers with outstanding arrest warrants for traffic offences would be arrested on the spot, while those whose licences were suspended would have their documents seized.
Agencies like the traffic police will also coordinate their operations on drivers, especially on suspended driving licences and outstanding arrest warrants, he added.
He said bus-manufacturing companies had been issued with a directive on Tuesday to build rigid one-piece bus bodies which adhered to the “R66 Economic Commission of European Countries” standards.
Motorists can check on their Kejara status with the JPJ or check online via www.jpj.gov.my or send an SMS addressed to JPJ new IC number (without hyphen) and send to 32252.
Chan: Refresher courses a must
The Star Online - 14 August 2007
TAIPING: Commercial vehicle drivers must attend mandatory refresher courses annually, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said.
“I want this to be implemented immediately,” he told reporters after visiting survivors of the Super Express bus crash at the hospital here.
Chan said he had informed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi about the crash earlier in the morning.
“The Prime Minister wants steps to be taken to improve our road safety.”
He said the mandatory refresher course had been discussed previously by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (Miros) and other authorities.
“This is of public interest. No more lives should be lost. I want this to be resolved as soon as possible,” he said.
Chan also said that there was a possibility that the crash, which he described as “one of the worst accidents in our nation’s history,” was due to negligence.
The refresher course is to hone the driving skills of commercial vehicle drivers.
When first proposed in 2004, the course was aimed at being a stringent and comprehensive training programme for commercial drivers.
The drivers were to undergo the training every two years. Those who did not attend the course would have their licences revoked.
The Transport Minister also said that Miros would investigate the incident with the assistance of the police, Road Transport Department and other relevant agencies.
He said public transport operators need to abide by road safety rules, which among others, stipulate that a co-driver must replace a driver after four hours of driving.
Chan said the bus was registered in 1987 and was inspected by Puspakom in May. The next inspection was scheduled for November.
On whether there were any plans to ban express buses from operating after midnight, Chan said the matter would also be studied based on the experiences of other countries.
Miros director-general Prof Radin Umar Radin Sohadi said that the investigation would focus on ensuring that results could be put to use so that such accidents did not reoccur.
“We will find out how the company's drivers were selected and trained, and how the buses were maintained.”
