KUALA LUMPUR: The government must review all safety aspects involving the use of double-decker buses in the country.
A road safety expert who made the call said this was necessary when such buses were used for long-distance travel and were prone to accidents when moving in high speed.
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Head of Road Safety Research Center, Associate Professor Dr Law Teik Hua said double-decker buses have a higher gravity point and greater mass, which required more time and distance to stop.
"A tall object has a higher centre of gravity. This makes it unstable. It is even worse if there are many passengers at the upper deck.
"They also have a greater propensity to overturn and, hence, more likely to be involved in traffic collision than standard buses," he said told The New Sunday Times.
Law said even if the weight at the lower deck was increased, it would not be able to offset the negative impact of the high centre gravity.
He added that because bus passengers were not required to wear seat belts (seat belts are not provided in buses) it would increase the risk of injury, particularly fatal injury.
"Unrestrained passengers will cause 'human collision' in the event of an accident. In light of this, policymakers should mandate that all bus passengers wear seat belts.
"Double-decker buses are only suitable to use on level roads and at low speed. In the United Kingdom, double-decker buses are only in the city," he said.
Law also said due to the significant differences between double-decker buses and ordinary buses, the skills of double-decker bus drivers must be enhanced.
"Relevant authorities, such as the Road Transport Department (RTD) must provide this group of bus drivers with enhanced training and only permit drivers with a special license to operate double-decker buses."
Social activist and Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye also urged the government to review all safety aspects of double-decker buses as they were in demand among locals and tourists.
"A study should be done whether double-decker buses are safe to be on certain roads such as the highways here, where some stretches are downhill and have bends.
"The recent bus crash incident has affected the safety of the public and this is a great concern for many of us. We can't wait around for more disasters to happen before an appropriate action is taken to curb future incidence," he said, adding road engineering also played an important factor in ensuring safety for such vehicles.
He was referring to the crash involving a double-decker bus which was carrying 26 passengers. The bus, which was from Ipoh, had turned turtle when the driver was believed to have lost control of the vehicle.
Lee, who was the chairman of a special investigation panel following a fatal double-decker bus crash in Genting Highlands in 2013, said the panel had made serious recommendations to the government to stop double-decker buses service to and from the highlands.
"Our findings at that time itself showed that double-deckers were risky to be used on hilly terrains. However, the buses posed lesser risk when used for short distances within the city roads," he said when contacted.
He said the Genting incident had claimed 37 lives triggering a nationwide outburst when a double-decker bus plunged 60 metres into a ravine. The bus was carrying 53 passengers at the time.