Kramatdjati bus firm yet to install safety devices

Kramatdjati bus firm yet to install safety devices

JAKARTA (JP): The management of an intercity bus firm which
lost one bus in a fire killing 29 passengers said it is yet to
install safety equipment on its fleet.

Suharno, the marketing manager of the privately-owned
Kramatdjati firm, said the management is still considering
whether it will apply the sophisticated "black box" device.

Suharno was commenting yesterday on Thursday's launching of
specially equipped buses of another firm, CV Lorena Transport and
Tour.

The company has equipped six buses with emergency exits and
surveillance devices. It plans to install similar additions to
its fleet of 200 intercity buses.

Lorena's director, GT Soerbakti, said although the management
had long planned to equip its buses with such devices, he
admitted the tragic accident of March 23 hastened the decision.

While Kramatdjati's management is still studying the use of
safety devices, "We care more on developing our human resources,"
Suharno said.

Thirty-one people were killed in a bus accident, including 29
passengers on the Kramatdjati bus on the Jagorawi toll road.

The passengers were trapped in a fire after the bus hit a jeep
parked on the hard shoulder of the toll road.

The driver, who admitted to police he had taken Nipam pills
before driving, is on trial at the Bogor District Court.

At Thursday's launching, Soerbakti was quoted by the Kompas
daily yesterday as saying the surveillance device works as the
vehicle's "black box".

The device will be able to record the vehicle's speed, time
and distance, as well as the driver's behavior during a journey,
he said.

"So when an accident happens, the device can be used as
authentic and scientific evidence. There is no way the driver can
lie," Soerbakti said.

"The emergency exit and the surveillance device are the first
ever to be installed in public buses in Indonesia, and they are
still considered special," he said.

He said the facilities have actually been common standards in
many European countries.

"We are even behind Malaysia. Actually, our devices were
imported from that country," he said.

"In each of these buses, a hammer is also provided," he said.
"It can be used to break the bus windshield in case the emergency
door does not work."

So far, most intercity buses, including Kramatdjati's, lack
emergency exits, hammers and other safety devices.

Emergency exits are mandated in clauses 92 and 93 of the 1993
rule on vehicles and drivers. Clause 93 also rules that signs
pointing to exits and their use must be displayed.

Some bus company owners have said they were not informed of
the rule. (26)