THE Super Ekspres bus involved in the worst crash in the country’s history at Km229 of the North-South Expressway in Bukit Gantang near Taiping yesterday, had been issued with 19 summonses since 1991.
The driver, Rohizan Abu Bakar, 38, who was among 19 people who died in the crash, had 13 summonses and two arrest warrants in his name for various traffic offences, Taiping OCPD ACP Raja Musa Raja Razak said yesterday.
He said the bus, belonging to Taipingbased Syarikat Kenderaan Bukit Gantang Sdn Bhd, was registered in 1987 and passed Puspakom’s inspection in May.
The freak accident should serve as a reminder to all drivers to be careful, especially at night, Raja Musa said.
“Driving at night affects our focus if we are tired and there is little traffic on the road. In today’s (yesterday) incident, there was a slight incline but no tyre marks,” he said.
The cause of the crash is being investigated, Raja Musa said.
Source: The Malay Mail
Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board chairman Datuk Markiman Kobiran said the bus, which was a replacement for another bus which broke down, did not have a permit for the route.
“The company did not submit an application to CVLB for any permit,” said Markiman when contacted by The Malay Mail yesterday.
Markiman said if the company had submitted an application, approval would have taken less than an hour. The bus only had a permit for the Johor Baru to Kuala Terengganu run.
“Any bus company which does not have a travelling permit may risk having their operating permit revoked,” said Markiman.
However, Markiman stressed that having the permit is not the main concern in this case.
“We are more concerned about the condition of the bus and whether it was roadworthy,” Markiman said, adding that investigators are already in Perak to sift through the wreckage for clues.
“The full report of the investigation into the accident may be ready in two days. I can’t comment on the cause of accident without the report,” he said.
The company, Syarikat Kenderaan Bukit Gantang Sdn Bhd, was issued with a notice at noon yesterday to suspend operations.
Its 34 buses will not be allowed to operate until further notice.
“We have instructed Transnasional to ferry the passengers who had already bought tickets from the company,” said Markiman.
At 4.30am yesterday, a bus travelling from Malacca to Butterworth was involved in an accident.
Twenty people were killed and nine others injured; making it the worst bus crash in the country’s history.
The accident took place at Km229 of the North-South Expressway in Bukit Gantang, Taiping. The bus was said to have gone down an incline when it crashed through the railing on the side of the road and plunged into a ditch five metres below.
The driver of the bus, Rohizan Abu Bakar, 38, was among those dead. He was from Taman Seri Petaling, Kulim, Kedah.
Also killed was an Indonesian, H. Abu Bakar, who was from Medan, Sumatra.
An unidentified three-year-old child was critically injured and has been admitted to Taiping Hospital.
Among those injured were two Vietnamese nationals and a Nepali.
Taiping police chief ACP Raja Musa Raja Razak said that the high death toll was due to the bus being badly smashed.
The roof was sheared clean off in the incident.
This caused several of the passengers to be flung out and others trapped in the vehicle.
He said Fire and Rescue personnel who rushed to the scene removed some of the injured passengers, administered first aid and sent them to Taiping Hospital, 20 km away.
Source: The Malay Mail
TAIPING: One of the country's worst road accidents, which occurred in the wee hours of yesterday on the North-South Expressway near here, was a disaster waiting to happen.
The driver had 13 traffic summonses - some still outstanding - and two warrants of arrest
against him while the 20-year-old bus, which also had 19 summonses, did not even have the permit to ply the route.
The passengers of the bus, bound for Alor Star from Malacca, never stood a chance against such a poor record - 19 of them were killed along with the 37- year-old driver. Nine others including a three-yearold boy are in hospital, some in critical condition.
The bus company has been ordered to cease operations immediately.
Source: The Star OnlineFM is highlighting this story not because it is funny. It is indeed a great tragedy which can be easily avoided and FM wishes to extend deepest condolence to the family affected by this horrendous tragedy. Despite the promises to crack down on errant drivers and bus company, similar accidents involving countless victims continue to occur. Most people may say, we are all saying this on hindsight, but this sort tragedy on the road in respect of bus crashes have becoming a common incident. What puzzles me the most is why the bus driver is able or allowed to continue driving despite the fact that he had 13 summonses and two arrest warrants in his name for various traffic offences. There must be a mechanism in place to penalise bus company for allowing 'unfit' driver from continuing being employed. Only then, bus company will be conscioused of its responsibility to the public.
Past bus tragedies
July 31, 2006 Twelve pilgrims on the way to St Anne’s Feast were killed when a chartered bus crashed at the 160th kilometre of the North-South Expressway near Nibong Tebal. Thirty-five others were injured. Dec 1, 2003 Fourteen passengers were killed in an early morning collision involving two buses – a school bus which was converted for commercial use and an express bus – at the 63rd kilometre of the Kuala Lipis-Merapoh trunk road. Twenty-three others were injured. April 21, 2001 Twelve women and a boy were killed when a bus skidded and crashed into a ditch off the Pengkalan Hulu-Baling road near Baling. Jan 15, 2001 Nine people were killed and five seriously injured when an express bus and a trailer lorry collided head-on at the 24th kilometre of the Sarikei-Sibu road during heavy rain. Dec 22, 1999 A Mutiara express bus caught fire after plunging into a ravine at Kampung Bayu in Paloh, near Gua Musang killing three passengers and injuring eight. July 16, 1996 A bus, ferrying a group of factory workers and their families on a holiday excursion, plunged into a 120m-deep ravine near the Genting Highlands Resort, killing 17 of them. Six were children. Source: The Star Online
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