KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 — Express bus companies must install seat belts and introduce safety procedure demonstrations in their buses to ensure the safety of passengers.
Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman, Tan Sri Syed Hamid Syed Jaafar Albar said the concept onboard commercial aircraft should be adopted such as reminding and guiding passengers on using the seat belt.
“I regard the use of seat belts as very important,” he told Bernama.
He said the risk of bus passengers being thrown out during a crash was high if they did not wear a seat belt.
Syed Hamid also said that express bus operators should also introduce speed limiters and install the Global Positioning System in their buses to monitor the speed, locations and movements to ensure the drivers follow the safety rules.
Meanwhile, Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association president, Datuk Mohamad Ashfar Ali said the association backed any move by the government to reduce accidents.
He also urged the government to draw up a law to compel passengers to wear seat belts.
Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) communications director, Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman concurred with Mohamad Ashfar, saying that wearing of seat belts was a good move but it should be accompanied with enforcement of the law.
Recently, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi announced follow-up measures to several fatal accidents involving buses.
These include the use of seat belts in every express and tour bus which will be enforced from Jan 1, 2015. — Bernama
