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New Straits Times
13 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Expert: Inaction, weak enforcement to blame for unresolved bus safety issues
There is no need for the government to reinvent the wheel to ensure better bus safety, an expert said, pointing out that decade-old plans introduced after past crashes were not properly implemented. Wan Agyl Wan Hassan, founder of transport think tank MY Mobility Vision, said the Road Transport Department (RTD) and the now-defunct Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) had developed multiple plans and initiatives to tackle bus safety issues. "The problem is that, for the most part, they remain plans, largely due to a failure to implement or enforce the rules." He cited SPAD's 2015 mandate for public service buses to be equipped with GPS tracking systems, allowing real-time monitoring by bus companies. A failure to comply would breach licensing conditions. "If this has been implemented and enforced, why do drivers seem unafraid of speeding?" he told the New Straits Times. Wan Agyl also called into question RTD's Kejara demerit system. "When you have a demerit system, a driver should be suspended after several infractions or whatever threshold is set by the authorities," he said. "In the case of the Gerik bus crash, the driver had 18 summonses, 13 of which were for speeding." He said one of the root problems in enforcing rules was that authorities were "working in silos" and there was a lack of transparency. "Every time there is a major crash, we read in the news that the driver had outstanding summonses, but what was done with that information before the crash?" he asked. "The RTD, police and Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) should have access to the number of summonses a driver and a bus company receive from each agency. "This should be marked in the Kejara system immediately. Right now, the demerit is recorded after a summons is paid. This is wrong." He said summonses should be recorded when issued and once a driver or company accumulated a certain number of demerits, their licences should be suspended. "In the interest of safety, these summonses should be visible to the public, so they can check and make the right choice when selecting a bus service." Wan Agyl, a former SPAD group operations head of policy and planning, said as far back as 2013, the agency had proposed introducing a driver information system, which would allow users to check a driver's record. "We can implement that now with QR codes. For example, put a bus driver's information on the bus, then people can scan the QR code to find out if he has any summonses," he said. "If there is improved transparency, drivers would be more careful and companies would select their drivers more carefully. "We just need the political will to execute what has already been studied, debated and agreed upon."
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Bus driver in Gerik crash apologises, blames ‘faulty brakes'
Amirul Fadhil Zulkifle said while the students seated at the front may have understood him, most at the back were asleep and could have interpreted his warnings as an outburst. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : The driver in the fatal bus crash that killed 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students yesterday has apologised to their families, claiming that the incident occurred due to a brake malfunction. Amirul Fadhil Zulkifle, 39, said the brakes malfunctioned when the bus reached the elephant crossing bridge at Gerik, although the vehicle had been in good condition upon its departure from Terengganu. 'I was trying everything I could, but none (of the bus's brake systems) were working, including the handbrake. Even the gears of the bus could not be changed,' Harian Metro quoted him as saying. Amirul said others on the road might have seen him cutting past vehicles and speeding, but claimed he was doing so to minimise the damage and avoid colliding with other vehicles. 'The last vehicle I cut past had a dashcam, and by then I was doing my best to mitigate the situation,' he said. He claimed that, upon realising the failure of the brakes, he immediately shouted for the students to take cover and prepare for impact. Amirul also said that while the students seated at the front may have understood him, most at the back were asleep, and could have interpreted his warnings as an outburst. Local transportation think tank MY Mobility Vision said his description matched common failure modes in buses with air brakes, and called for a critical forensic investigation of the bus's systems to determine the cause behind the tragedy. In a statement, the think tank said the accident might be symptomatic of a larger problem with Malaysia's road infrastructure, as evidence indicated that the guardrails had penetrated the bus cabin, posing an even larger risk to its passengers. 'Every guardrail on a federal highway must perform to standards, particularly the MASH TL-3 specifications that Malaysia has committed to adopting. 'We must ask: did this barrier fail to perform when lives depended on it?' said MY Mobility Vision.
