Wed, 31 May 2017 12:51:29 +0000
THE road traffic accident involving Kapena Bus Services on Great East Road a week ago could have been avoided if the operator had not only complied with the night travel ban in force but also adhered to basic vehicle inspections requirements.
Preliminary investigations conducted by the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) indicate that the operator neglected or failed to ensure that the bus in question was fit to be used to carry passengers after the change of the brakes was done, thereby occasioned danger to the travelling public.
It is disheartening to note that such recklessness and negligence on the part of the bus service operators is not being cited for the first time this year. This is the second time within four months, thereby the fears raised by members of the public are justified.
On 31st January, 2017, a Higer bus belonging to Mazhandu Family Bus Services collided with a Freightliner truck around 05:40 hours in the morning. The circumstances surrounding this accident revealed that the bus had a fault the day before around 19:00 hours but the driver opted to use it and proceeded on his journey the following day around 05:00 hours.
Going by this, it is clear that in both instances, the drivers together with the operators acted negligently by not ascertaining the roadworthiness of the vehicles.
Probably, the spate of road carnage could have reduced or been avoided had the drivers and operators taken requisite basic safety measures into account.
Do these companies in the transport service business have fully equipped garages, let alone qualified mechanics? How often are their buses serviced? Does the RTSA conduct random inspections to ascertain the road fitness of the buses?
For instance, a trained driver does not need to be reminded that a vehicle must be road worthy prior to embarking on a journey. In any case, common sense demands that whenever a passenger-carrying vehicle develops a fault, no responsible driver and operator can dare to proceed or authorise that the journey continues.
The mere fact that the operators allowed a passenger-carrying bus which was not roadworthy to be used by the travelling public not only shows disregard for human life but also glaring lapses in the enforcement of some safety measures. How can a faulty public service vehicle be allowed to pass at the police road block?
It is equally an established fact that the driver and the operator defied the provisions of the Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 76 of 2016 which restricts the movement of Public Service Vehicles (PSV) at night.
Much as Kapena Bus Services may not have a poor road safety profile like Mazhandu Family Bus Services, the RTSA should seriously consider suspending its operating licence for abrogating the law with impunity.
We think that imposing water-tight operating conditions on erring public transport service providers not only serves as a deterrent to would-be offenders but also safeguards the lives of the majority travelling public.
Using public transport should not be viewed as a death trap, and those who have been given operating licences must ensure that they comply with stipulated safety conditions if they are to remain in the business.
Needless to say that there is need for the RTSA to periodically subject drivers to refresher courses just so that they are competent enough to move on the road. It is rather unfortunate to learn that despite knowing fully well that the buses had faults, drivers chose to over speed. What manner of recklessness is this!
We urge the RTSA to ensure each of these big public transport service companies with operating licences are compelled to maintain fully functional vehicle service centres and employ qualified mechanics who should be able to regularly service their fleet of buses.
The RTSA should not treat law breakers with kids’ gloves. Let the law be adhered to and punish law breakers to safeguard lives of the travelling public.
