Deaths and injuries involving these vehicles have fallen over the past two years
By Lim Yan Liang , Royston Sim, The Straits Times, 15 Apr 2012
It may not seem the case, given what has happened in recent weeks, but the number of accidents involving public buses has been falling over the last two years.
Latest figures obtained from the Traffic Police show that from 2010 to last year, the number of people who died from public bus-related accidents fell from 11 to eight. The number of people injured also went down from 240 to 151 over the same period.
In the first three months this year, a total of 36 fatality and injury cases involving public buses were recorded.
The figure for the corresponding period last year was 48.
These latest numbers may come as a surprise to many commuters, especially after two road accidents involving public buses - including one that killed a 66-year-old grandmother - hit the headlines over the last two weeks.
Netizens were critical of the driver who was involved in the accident with the elderly woman.
Concerns were also raised online about whether there has been an increase in such accidents.
Experts say one reason for the widespread attention these two cases have garnered is the nature of public bus transport - there are a lot more people involved when an accident occurs.
Then there is social media.
People think that there are more, instead of fewer, bus accidents today because there are more witnesses, said Dr Park Byung Joon, who heads the master's programme in urban transport management at SIM University.
'When a bus is involved, there are so many people on it, and social media guarantees that, very quickly, clips make it onto the Internet and many people see it,' Dr Park said.
'Whereas in a car accident, it's just those involved. With buses, there is much more social media exposure.'
By Lim Yan Liang , Royston Sim, The Straits Times, 15 Apr 2012
It may not seem the case, given what has happened in recent weeks, but the number of accidents involving public buses has been falling over the last two years.
Latest figures obtained from the Traffic Police show that from 2010 to last year, the number of people who died from public bus-related accidents fell from 11 to eight. The number of people injured also went down from 240 to 151 over the same period.
In the first three months this year, a total of 36 fatality and injury cases involving public buses were recorded.
The figure for the corresponding period last year was 48.
These latest numbers may come as a surprise to many commuters, especially after two road accidents involving public buses - including one that killed a 66-year-old grandmother - hit the headlines over the last two weeks.
Netizens were critical of the driver who was involved in the accident with the elderly woman.
Concerns were also raised online about whether there has been an increase in such accidents.
Experts say one reason for the widespread attention these two cases have garnered is the nature of public bus transport - there are a lot more people involved when an accident occurs.
Then there is social media.
People think that there are more, instead of fewer, bus accidents today because there are more witnesses, said Dr Park Byung Joon, who heads the master's programme in urban transport management at SIM University.
'When a bus is involved, there are so many people on it, and social media guarantees that, very quickly, clips make it onto the Internet and many people see it,' Dr Park said.
'Whereas in a car accident, it's just those involved. With buses, there is much more social media exposure.'
Responding to queries from The Sunday Times, SBS Transit and SMRT - the two major bus operators here - said that their training programmes ensure drivers are safe on the road.
SBS Transit senior vice-president of corporate communications Tammy Tan said all new bus drivers - with at least a year's driving experience - undergo a structured 29-day training programme that focuses on driving and safety skills, incident management and customer service.
Foreigners are given additional training.
At SBS Transit, those from China have to undergo 21 more days of training to learn basic conversational English and to familiarise themselves with local driving conditions.
After completing their training, they are paired with an experienced driver who mentors them for two to four days at bus interchanges to help them learn their assigned bus routes.
Once on the road, the drivers are assessed using motion sensors, cameras and mapping software. The system also identifies areas where the drivers can improve, Ms Tan said.
SBS Transit senior vice-president of corporate communications Tammy Tan said all new bus drivers - with at least a year's driving experience - undergo a structured 29-day training programme that focuses on driving and safety skills, incident management and customer service.
Foreigners are given additional training.
At SBS Transit, those from China have to undergo 21 more days of training to learn basic conversational English and to familiarise themselves with local driving conditions.
After completing their training, they are paired with an experienced driver who mentors them for two to four days at bus interchanges to help them learn their assigned bus routes.
Once on the road, the drivers are assessed using motion sensors, cameras and mapping software. The system also identifies areas where the drivers can improve, Ms Tan said.
Refresher training sessions are conducted every two years.
SMRT conducts similar training programmes which can last up to nine weeks.
'All service leaders are also taught to be proactive and seek help from other passengers if they face a communication problem, for example, if they are not able to understand the language or accent spoken,' an SMRT spokesman said.
Dr Park said the training programmes for drivers seem adequate. He added that while it was not easy to say whether accidents involving buses occur because the drivers are being overworked, the hours logged by bus captains 'are not excessive'.
He noted that in other major cities such as Seoul, bus drivers can work for as long as 12 hours at a stretch including overtime.
Both operators said that, on average, their bus drivers work about nine hours a day. They added that where overtime is concerned, the drivers do not exceed the limit set by the Ministry of Manpower.
'All bus captains work on a system-controlled roster to ensure that no one exceeds the maximum allowed 72 overtime hours a month,' said an SBS Transit spokesman.
But at least a few drivers who spoke to The Sunday Times said they worked more than nine hours a day. One driver, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ng, said he had only eight to 12 minutes of rest between trips.
Bus commuters' opinions were mixed.
To improve road safety, marketing manager Zanthe Ng, 26, suggested refresher courses be conducted more frequently.
Ms Ang Hui Ting, 40, a saleswoman, said longer rest periods would help the drivers be less rude and impatient.
Transport experts said that the current system of training is acceptable, but that more can be done to lower accident rates, specifically, in the area of 'soft' skills.
'If you are a courteous driver - if you are prepared to give way, prepared to wait for people to pass - you are definitely going to be a safer driver, there's no doubt about it,' said Dr Gopinath Menon, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University.
'There is certainly some correlation between courtesy and road safety. The best way is to work on the human being behind the wheel: Ensure that he gets enough rest and invest in him long term.
SMRT conducts similar training programmes which can last up to nine weeks.
'All service leaders are also taught to be proactive and seek help from other passengers if they face a communication problem, for example, if they are not able to understand the language or accent spoken,' an SMRT spokesman said.
Dr Park said the training programmes for drivers seem adequate. He added that while it was not easy to say whether accidents involving buses occur because the drivers are being overworked, the hours logged by bus captains 'are not excessive'.
He noted that in other major cities such as Seoul, bus drivers can work for as long as 12 hours at a stretch including overtime.
Both operators said that, on average, their bus drivers work about nine hours a day. They added that where overtime is concerned, the drivers do not exceed the limit set by the Ministry of Manpower.
'All bus captains work on a system-controlled roster to ensure that no one exceeds the maximum allowed 72 overtime hours a month,' said an SBS Transit spokesman.
But at least a few drivers who spoke to The Sunday Times said they worked more than nine hours a day. One driver, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ng, said he had only eight to 12 minutes of rest between trips.
Bus commuters' opinions were mixed.
To improve road safety, marketing manager Zanthe Ng, 26, suggested refresher courses be conducted more frequently.
Ms Ang Hui Ting, 40, a saleswoman, said longer rest periods would help the drivers be less rude and impatient.
Transport experts said that the current system of training is acceptable, but that more can be done to lower accident rates, specifically, in the area of 'soft' skills.
'If you are a courteous driver - if you are prepared to give way, prepared to wait for people to pass - you are definitely going to be a safer driver, there's no doubt about it,' said Dr Gopinath Menon, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University.
'There is certainly some correlation between courtesy and road safety. The best way is to work on the human being behind the wheel: Ensure that he gets enough rest and invest in him long term.
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