KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye has lauded the plan to set up a training school for professional bus drivers.
Lee said the move to set up a special training school to train more bus drivers in the country was long overdue.
“It is one way to help curb bus crashes... many lives had been lost due to the way bus drivers are employed here,” he said.
Lee said the country was short of good, efficient and professional bus drivers.
“As a result, many bus companies resort to less professional drivers and the professionalism is not there,” he said.
Lee added that Malaysia must transform and follow what other developed nations have done by ensuring the country has sufficient professional bus drivers.
“Drivers who have the skills and expertise need to be trained to ensure the safety of passengers. The problem with bus drivers today is that they are not professionally trained. They don’t have a fair system and are not getting a fair deal from employers,” he said.
Lee also said most bus drivers were being paid according to the number of trips they make per day and there was a tendency for drivers to try to make more trips a day to secure sufficient income.
“Drivers then speed, go on drugs to stay awake and don’t have enough rest, thus putting passengers at risk,” he said.
Lee stressed that the time had come for the government to set up a proper training school and ensure the drivers are given a decent wage.
He advised bus operators not to allow the drivers to work long hours.
Asked about the law that requires operators to provide a second bus driver for long trips and stops for rest, Lee said the Road Transport needed to revisit this law and ensure it was being complied to by the operators and drivers.
Lee said even though the current law meant bus drivers need to sit for various tests and obtain a public service vehicle licence, this did not necessarily provide drivers with the proper professionalism required of the job.