Liew Kim San
SIBU: With a staggering 6,000 road deaths yearly, a long haul bus driver here is shifting safety into full gear to ensure passengers arrive at their destinations safe and sound.
Liew Kim San, who has 20 years of driving experience, singled out keeping within the speed limit as paramount importance in ensuring the safety of his passengers.
“With heavy traffic on the trunk road as people rush home for the Christmas celebration, it is crucial that everyone abide by the rules and regulations to ensure a safe journey.
“We must possess the right attitude when on the road to safeguard our safety and that of others. It is pivotal that we keep to the safe speed limit as speeding makes the vehicle unstable,” he told thesundaypost at the Express Bus Terminal here yesterday.
To ensure that they remain alert on long journeys, Liew revealed that he would take turns on the wheel with his co-driver every two hours.
“This is to ensure the driver remains constantly alert and does not suffer from fatigue due to long periods at the wheel,” he noted.
According to Liew, a lot of people are taking bus home to celebrate Christmas with their families.
At the time of the interview he was on his way to Miri, which is a seven-hour drive from here.
In an earlier interview, a member of the Road Safety Council, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said some 6,000 people lost their lives on the road yearly.
Saddened by the tragic (express bus) accident in Sabah, he lamented it added to the statistics of fatalities of road deaths in the country.
He bemoaned: “This figure has not come down over the years, maintaining at a plateau. Lessons of past tragedies have not been learned. Every time when heart-rending stories are reported, authorities will come in and investigate.
“But at the end of the day – what are the lessons to be learned? It is high time road safety is taken seriously.”
It was reported that the ill-fated bus went out of control and overturned at a sharp bend and hit a tree while on its way back to Kota Kinabalu from Tawau.
Lee stressed that drivers must have the right attitude as the lives of passengers are in their hands.
Liew agreed, as bus drivers they shoulder a high responsibility as the safety of passengers is paramount.
“That is why we need to take every necessary precaution including keeping the vehicles in tip-top conditions to ensure a safe journey,” he pointed out.