No More Free Rides Experts Demand Corporate Liability For Deadly Negligence

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Road safety experts are pushing for stringent measures to bring to book errant bus and lorry companies following the revelation that nearly two-thirds of transportation companies have failed safety audits. - NSTP/ASYRAF HAMZAHKUALA LUMPUR: Road safety experts are pushing for stringent measures to bring to book errant bus and lorry companies following the revelation that nearly two-thirds of transportation companies have failed safety audits.
The experts again floated the idea of introducing a corporate liability law to hold heavy vehicle companies liable for crashes that occur due to negligence.
They also want the list of rule breakers to be made public.
Universiti Putra Malaysia Associate Professor Dr Law Teik Hua said despite having traffic laws that heavily fine offenders, errant operators were not perturbed.
"A corporate liability law may be effective by making companies and their owners legally responsible for being reckless."
This, he said, would hit them heavily in their pockets.
Law was responding to Road Transport Department director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli's statement that 85 out of 133 lorry and bus operators the department recently inspected had failed safety audits.
Law said companies must be held responsible unless they could prove they did everything possible to prevent accidents involving their vehicles.
"This way, operators are more likely to follow the guidelines."
He said if a company's drivers were found to be negligent, top executives and directors should be held responsible, fined or charged with a crime.
He said sentences must be harsh enough to hurt companies to be a deterrent.
This could include fines based on a company's income, licence suspensions or revocations and blacklisting from doing business with the government, he said.
Transportation expert Wan Agyl Wan Hassan described the revelation that 85 companies failed safety audits as a "warning sign".
"This includes buses with faulty brakes and overworked drivers.
"If this is what's uncovered in a formal audit, how many more are slipping through the cracks?"
Besides advocating for a corporate liability law, Wan Agyl said the government must begin using real-time data to monitor driver fatigue and speedsters.
"Those who cut corners and put lives at risk should not be allowed to operate, let alone carry passengers or goods across the country."
He wanted a public registry of errant operators due to the current lack of transparency on frequent offenders.
Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia road safety expert Associate Professor Dr Ng Choy Peng urged Putrajaya to consider enforcing set working hours for bus and lorry drivers to ensure they were fit to drive.
"In Malaysia, the normal working hours for commercial vehicle drivers are 45 hours per week.
"The current regulations specify that driving hours should not exceed eight hours a day, with a minimum 30-minute rest period after every four hours of driving.
"These guidelines, established by the Road Transport Department, contribute to relatively pleasant working hours."
She said the Road Transport Act 1987 did not specify maximum driving hours.
"However, it allows for a maximum of eight hours of driving per day, which can be extended to 12 hours provided that a mandatory rest day follows.
"I've seen some commercial vehicle drivers with short tempers. This, I believe, comes from driving long hours. Companies should provide them with sufficient break time."
It was reported that some bus drivers sacrificed their rest days to make enough money to cover their living expenses. - NST

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