Bus ownerrs told to install emergency exits

Sri Wahyuni and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Yogyakarta

Fatalities in the latest bus crash could have been avoided, or at least minimized, had the bus been equipped to proper safety standards, including the provision of an emergency exit, transportation observers have said.

The accident, which killed 54 people, 49 of whom were schoolgirls, shows how terrible the country's transportation system is, the observers added.

"Every bus should be equipped with an emergency exit. Unfortunately, this is not compulsory for bus operators," transportation observer Heru Sutomo told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He said an emergency exit was not difficult to install for an automotive manufacturing company. However, the company would only provide them if specifically asked to by bus operators.

"We have to make it clear how important it is to have an emergency exit on every bus," Heru added.

Fellow observer Danang Parikesit blamed the government for poor law enforcement and a lack of commitment to the safety of public transportation passengers.

The government, he said, did not uphold the public transportation regulations and was lax when it came to assessing the fitness of public transportation vehicles and maximum loads.

The observers, both from Gadjah Mada University's transportation studies department, were commenting on the accident that left 54 people burned alive after the bus carrying them caught fire following a collision with a trailer truck in Situbondo, East Java.

It was the most tragic traffic accident in the country this year. Early in June, 10 people were burned alive and four others suffered serious burns when a passenger bus burst into flames in Brebes, Central Java.

Heru asserted that an improvement in the quality of the domestic transportation system was not easy to achieve because it would involve at least 14 sectors, including inspection of public vehicles, loading tests and driver competence.

Furthermore, Danang called for the enforcement of a standard of competence for public drivers and a transparent, corruption- free inspections system for public transportation.

He said the absence of both safety factors had been the main cause of numerous fatal traffic accidents. Road accidents are common in Indonesia, with an average 29 deaths per day.

Danang suggested stricter requirements for the issuance of drivers' licenses for public service vehicles.

"A driver's license alone is not enough for them as it only deals with their driving skill. It has nothing to do with their driving competence for a means of transportation that carries passengers, which also implies a sense of responsibility," he said, adding that in most developed countries, public transportation drivers were required to have a special public service vehicle license.

"Here, anyone who has obtained a SIM B driving license can drive a passenger bus, regardless of whether they are competent to do so," he said. A SIM B is a license for driving public transportation.

Danang suggested that a standard of competence for public transportation drivers should top the government's agenda in managing public transportation. Otherwise, fatal traffic accidents due to the carelessness of drivers would remain a big threat, he added.

"I think it's time for the government to issue a regulation on standards of competence for public transportation drivers," he said.

Referring to a report, Danang said that inspection of bus feasibility was prone to corruption.

As a result, he said, inspections were not carried out properly, or even at all.