Bus ownerrs told to install emergency exits

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.