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)