Page 20 - TBN-2014-3
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conducted a survey among young Malaysians, including ex-ser- vicemen and others. The response revealed that a very small percentage wanted to become bus drivers although the average salary ranged from RM2.5K to RM5k per month. Rapid KL, with its full-fledged driving academy and hostels as well as the one who pays everything from the driver’s E licence to the PSV, had not been successful in recruiting drivers!
The bus operators’ request to bring in qualified and experienced drivers from countries like Myanmar or Bangladesh with perhaps an imposed quota of 30 per cent had fallen on deaf ears. These foreign drivers are likely to be more disciplined as the punishment in sending them home would be too painful as their income in this country would be a lot higher.
Knee-jerk Safety Measures
A knee-jerk reaction by certain quarters like the introduction of mandatory seatbelts on buses will not reduce accidents! It might reduce passenger injury, that is, if passengers comply with the practice! Based on the lack of awareness or enthusiasm from car passengers on seatbelt use, very few belt up when they get into a car (with the exception of the driver and front passenger for whom the compliance is relatively high).
Banning a double decker bus on certain routes that includes Gu- nung Jerai (which never had a bus service... only a 4x4 vehicle, such as the Land Rover, can be used) makes the public wonder. A double decker bus with a better centre of gravity (COG) and heavy equipment and loads that occupy its lower deck is being banned while a high decker bus (a single deck express bus designed with a high floor and big cavity luggage compartment below) with a higher COG - popular among tour operators and which is frequent- ly involved in accidents in winding areas, including the recent ones in Pahang and Simpang Pulai - is declared unsafe.
The bus company star rating system that was introduced by MIROS requires a company to earn 100 per cent marks to quality for a 5-star status! If a big bus company like KTB had only one accident, it would not qualify for a 5-star rating regardless of its safety record of almost 1,000 express departures daily for the past 30 years ferrying 1 million passengers per month! Instead, a bus company with only 5 buses in its fleet could get a 5-star rating if the company had no accident at all! The safety ratio does not count! Hence, MIROS indirectly prefers many smaller operators with fewer variables to control out there!
In short, the best and most effective way to avoid bus accidents is to have a surplus of bus drivers so that operators can discipline and weed out bad hats or bad habits. Operators have to follow the SHE (Safety, Health and Environment) code of practice, with buses meeting the necessary regulation. The relevant authorities have to make the business environment conducive in terms of cost versus revenue, manpower, and safety for the industry to prosper. The number of operators has to be reduced to a manageable few with a quota for imported good foreign drivers as a short-term so- lution until this profession regains its respectability. All bus drivers are to subscribe to centralised national driver records/ratings for the hiring purpose. Fares also need to be reviewed or liberated according to demand and supply as well as the quality and type of services provided by the operator.
Having said all that, buses are still the safest mode of transport on land with less than 3 dozen passenger casualties in a year com-
18 truck & bus news › 2014/3
 进有资格和有经验的外籍司机,然而却未获得 有关当局的任何反应。这些外籍司机可能会更 容易管制和处分,因为遣返回国对他们来说会 是个惨痛的处分,尤其他们在我国可取得更高 的收入。
未经思考,完全基于本能的安全措施
一个基于本能的反应,如强制所有的巴士乘客系上 安全带,并不会降低车祸的发生率。如果乘客配 合,它或者能够降低乘客在意外中受伤的风险。从 轿车乘客看,我们不难发现许多的轿车乘客,在进 入车子后根本就缺乏系安全带的意识(除了司机和 前座乘客比较会遵循该规定)。
禁止双层巴士行驶于陡坡的高原路,包括日莱山 (Gunung Jerai), 一个从来不曾有过巴士服务, 只能使用四驱车如Land Rover 的地点,公众无不感 到奇怪。拥有较好重心,再加上其底层被重型设备和 装载物所占据的双层巴士,竟然被禁止,而业者普遍 使用,拥有较高重心的高单层巴士(一个高地板和在 下面拥有高容量行李厢设计的单层长途巴士),并经 常在蜿蜒的路上发生车祸,包括最近发生在彭亨和 Simpang Pulai的事故, 也被宣称不安全。
马来西亚道路安全研究院所提出的巴士公司星级评 级制度,要求一家公司赢得100%的分数才能获得5 星级的地位。如果一家大规模的公司如KTB,30年 来KTB的1,000辆长途巴士每天风雨不改,每月运 载1百万名乘客,不管之前的安全纪录如何,只要 不幸涉及一起车祸,就无法取得5星级的评价。相 反地,一家只有5辆巴士的业者,只要它的巴士完 全没有涉及车祸,就能获得5星级的评价!安全的 比例完全不在评分的考量范围之内。因此,马来西 亚道路安全研究院间接地偏好小型营运者,因为比 较容易控制。
简而言之,避免巴士车祸发生的最好和最有效的方 法就是拥有充足的司机,以便巴士业者能够处分和 铲除那些坏司机和不良的习惯。营运者必须遵守安 全、健康及环保业务(SHE)条规,巴士则必须符 合法律规定。相关的当局应该营造一个在成本与收 益、人力及安全方面的有利营商环境,使这个行业 得以昌盛。
营运者的数目应被降低到有关当局可以控制的数 目,规定进口良好司机的配额,作为短期的解决方 案,直到这个行业重拾尊严为止。设立一个集中的 国家司机纪录/评分,让业者在聘请司机时可以查 询司机是否曾经违规。检讨巴士收费或按照供需、 业者所提供的巴士服务种类及品质自由收费。
尽管如此,巴士仍然是最安全的陆路交通工具。与每 年超过4,000人的摩托骑士死亡人数相比,巴士车祸 的死亡人数低于30人。即使是轿车也高达4位数。
制造商的观点:
Ian Tan:斯堪尼亚深信,对任何一个营运者来说, 司机都是一个单一的重要资产。因此,必须提供司 机正确的培训和关怀(特别是在每一个车程之间要 有足够的休息)。车子必须符合工作的规格,遵守 指定的维修频率和范围。惟有这样,司机才能最有 效地使用斯堪尼亚的产品。
   















































































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