Penang bus crash was an accident waiting to happen
AT 5.45am last Tuesday, a factory bus ferrying 40 foreign workers stopped on the left lane of the North-South Expressway near the Juru toll plaza in Seberang Prai, Penang, after passengers alerted the driver to clouds of exhaust fumes filling the bus.
As passengers rushed out, another factory bus, ferrying 17 local female workers, crashed into the stationary bus, pushing it to the right lane.
The impact was so great that the rear and right side of the stationary bus was sheared off, and the front left portion of the second bus destroyed. Both buses were reduced to wrecks. Eight were killed and 42 injured.
For the victims’ families, the episode would haunt them forever. Any compensation, which may not be forthcoming, may never assuage their pain.
Both drivers had been issued summonses earlier for driving with expired road tax. The younger driver was caught without a public service vehicle (PSV) licence needed to drive buses.
In Malaysia, it is compulsory for motor vehicles to be insured for third-party injuries, and buses and taxis for passenger liability.
Victims or next of kin would have to sue the driver at fault and insurance companies would wait for the court to award compensation before paying out. This process takes several years.
But, it would be pointless to sue if there is no motor insurance cover, as most drivers do not have the money or assets to settle large claims.
Even when road tax and motor insurance are valid, the driver must adhere to the terms and conditions stipulated in the motor insurance policy, and driving without a PSV licence or being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or even admitting fault, may nullify insurance cover.
The fact that many drivers are driving with unsettled summonses only goes to show that the enforcement agencies are just as apathetic as the two bus drivers involved in the collision.
The collision was an accident waiting to happen and, tragically, the number of casualties was high. What is more tragic is similar accidents could occur any time because of apathy.