Cops to probe whether negligence caused crash

JOHOR BARU: Police are conducting a detailed investigation into the cause of the Pagoh bus tragedy.

Johor deputy police chief Datuk Zakaria Ahmad said police would confirm whether the crash was caused by the 32-year-old driver, who died in the tragedy, or other issues related to mechanical failure or road conditions.

“The police are working with other agencies, such as the Malaysian Highway Authority, Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research, Road Transport Department and Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre, to conduct investigations.

“We need to identify the main factor that led to the accident and find out whether it was caused by negligence or technical problems related to the bus and road,” Zakaria told Bernama after the state police monthly assembly here yesterday.

He said police would also look into factors, such as express bus drivers’ rest hours, provisions for a second bus driver for long-distance trips, bus endurance and maintenance frequency, and trip schedules.

“The bus company claimed that it had ensured there were second drivers, but this needs to be verified. Accidents have occurred near the crash site before, but not often.”

A Land Public Transport Commission source said the Alisan Golden Coach Express bus, which departed from JB Sentral about 2am on Saturday heading for Kuala Lumpur, might have picked up passengers at an undesignated pick-up point.

The source said there were only five permitted areas for picking up express bus passengers in Johor Baru, which are the Larkin Sentral, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Taman Universiti, Johor Jaya and Pasir Gudang terminals.

The source said the unmarked pick-up and drop-off locations did not have the bus service and operation permits, and did not adhere to the regular scheduling of express buses at terminals.

Another source said the bus could have been a chartered bus, or was an “extra bus”, which was common during peak seasons.

A Johor Public Transport Corporation source said tourist buses were used as extra buses, but the vehicles were still bound by regulations that required a journey of more than 300km or a trip above four hours to have a co-driver.

The bus operator must also have the bus insured when ferrying passengers, have a valid road tax and be equipped with a global positioning system.