PETALING JAYA: The Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) has called for the reinforcement of regulations for express and tour buses by the Transport Ministry following the recent bus tour bus crash on Jalan Genting-Bentong which killed two Chinese nationals.
Since 2022, it was reported that there were at least 32 bus accidents in Malaysia, the New Straits Times reported.
CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader urges the the police, Transport Ministry, and the Road Transport Department to immediately address the issue to assure confidence in passengers.
He added that imposing fines up to RM500,000 or being sentenced to two years in jail for offending companies under a “seldom-used Road Transport Act provision”, as quoted, was not enough.
With this, CAP proposed to blacklist express and tour bus company directors from operating, bringing up Section 45 of the Land Public Transport Act 2010 which can cancel or suspend these business licences under the authority of the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD).
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Furthermore, CAP also suggests the integration of summons and traffic violation data, also compiling road tax and licence expiry dates.
“Companies should have basic access to driver’s backgrounds to make informed hiring decisions,” he was quoted as saying.
The association also suggested the issuance of stickers that indicate when the vehicles were last inspected by Puspakom, as well as indicating the next inspection date and a “whistleblower hotline”, as quoted. These stickers will be displayed near the vehicle doors.
Besides that, concerns of bus drivers being equipped with the knowledge of evacuation procedures and emergency exits were brought up, citing a January 2024 express bus fire in Alor Gajah which claimed one life and caused seven others to get injured due to the driver’s lack of awareness of where the emergency exits were located in the bus.
Furthermore, Mohideen brought up the topic of express buses being equipped with “mandatory GPS monitoring systems”, as quoted, as it was made a requirement since 2008.
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Not only that, he added on the issue of bus drivers involved in accidents mainly occuring during night time due to microsleep, pushing for bus drivers to have a co-driver for journeys over 300km which is also a legal requirement often violated due to income concerns.
Finally, Mohideen emphasised the importance of adequate pay and employment benefits for bus drivers reasoning that they will not feel the need to take on multiple journeys to make ends meet.
“Without proper rest, drivers’ concentration on the road can be severely impaired, leading to dangerous situations such as microsleep which can occur when someone is extremely tired.
“By providing sufficient pay and benefits, bus companies can help ensure their drivers are well-rested and able to maintain high levels of concentration, thereby enhancing overall road safety,“ he was quoted as saying.
