KEEPING DRIVERS IN CHECK: Sarawak Bus Transport Companies Association suggests public buses be fitted with a speed beeper to alert drivers.
FESTIVE MOOD: Passengers waiting for their buses to go back for the holidays.
SIBU: Sarawak Bus Transport Companies Association suggests public buses be fitted with a speed beeper instead of global positioning system (GPS).
Its chairman Lau Khing Seng said yesterday the beeper system would automatically alert drivers to reduce speed if they exceeded the stipulated limit.
“I have seen this system implemented among taxi drivers in Singapore, where a beeping sound would alert drivers to slow down if they exceed 80km per hour.
“This system will be more ideal compared to that of GPS. Equipping buses with GPS will require a round-the-clock monitoring which can further push up our cost,” Lau told The Borneo Post.
He added that the simple beeper system was sufficient to stop drivers from driving beyond the speed limit.
Lau pointed out that it was clearly spelt out in the employment agreement that bus drivers must not go beyond 80km per hour.
Lau was reacting to a Bernama report that the Land and Public Transport Commission (SPAD) had encouraged all public bus companies to equip their buses with GPS to monitor their drivers.
SPAD chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar reportedly said the GPS would be connected to a control centre so drivers could be monitored and action taken on errant ones.
He cited the success of the system used by public bus companies in China to back his call for the installation of GPS in buses in the nation.
Meanwhile, a member of the National Road Safety Council, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye was all for public buses to be fitted with GPS.
Lee said the owners of buses must be prepared to invest to enhance the safety of passengers.
“This (GPS) is certainly a good measure as it helps to monitor the speed limit and how fast the vehicles are moving. But having an idea is one thing, implementing it is another matter.
“They should look at all the various aspects and do whatever they can to ensure drivers will not speed,” he stated.
Lee believed that drivers too would be more careful on the roads as their moves were being monitored.