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Safety, not profits, priority for buses

A recent fire on a Royal Dragon Motor Transport bus that claimed several lives caught the attention of the media, with reports only quieting down once the Ministry of Transportation and Communications took measures to punish the company. This is not the first time a public transportation vehicle has had a serious accident on an expressway.

When the authorities discovered extra seats had been blocking the emergency exits on the Royal Dragon bus, many other bus operators who were employing a similarly illegal practise quickly removed the seats blocking the exits on their own buses. The realization that Royal Dragon is not the only bus company who puts profits ahead of people's lives makes me feel very uneasy about the whole incident.

I bet similar accidents will happen again, the outcome of which will remain the same if our government fails to properly understand the behavior of humans and come up with appropriate response measures.

When taking a trip by airplane, many Taiwanese feel that the safety demonstration performed by the flight attendants is a complete waste of time. However, that is because they often fail to see the serious side of the rules and regulations surrounding air travel, regulations on the whole created and enforced by foreign aviation organizations. Whenever there is a plane crash in a foreign country, these organizations always take great pains to get to the bottom of the matter in order to prevent the same accident from happening again. Their efforts often lead to improvements in aircraft design or the revision of passenger-safety regulations.

I always pay attention to the safety demonstrations on flights because it refreshes my memory of the emergency evacuation procedures. I also search for the life jacket under my seat to make sure it is there.

The consideration of passenger safety comes from past experiences in shipping. People who have traveled on cruise ships will remember undergoing evacuation training as soon as they get on board. If they hear the alarm whilst at sea, passengers must put on their life jackets and proceed to a designated location. They must locate the lifeboats and follow the instructions on how to board them. Cruise ships must prepare enough lifeboats to accommodate all the people on board. This measure comes from the regulations set by the International Conference on the Safety of Life at Sea, which was convened in London in 1913. On April 14, 1912, the tragic sinking of the Titanic, the largest and most luxurious liner of its time, claimed 1,513 lives. Although the Titanic carried 2,224 passengers, the onboard lifeboats could only accommodate 1,178 passengers. The Californian, a ship about 30km away from the Titanic, did not receive her distress signals because nobody was on duty at the radio. As a result, the 1913 conference prescribed that the radio must be attended to at all times.

When I watched the coverage of the bus accident on television, I saw that the emergency exit in the rear of the bus was covered by extra seats. Not only that, I noticed that passengers probably did not know how to open the emergency exit located on the roof of the bus because it is difficult to open. Also, it is conventional practice for domestic bus operators not to install seatbelts. However, even if they do, there is no one to remind the passengers to fasten them.

Therefore, I propose to the transportation authorities that we investigate the real cause of tragic traffic accidents. The investigation should even scrutinize the behavior and psychology of drivers. Based on the study, the transportation authorities can introduce feasible preventive measures to officially enforce new regulations on public transportation operators and allow officials to carry out surprise inspections at any time.

What is unavoidable is that the drivers or the service staff must perform a short safety demonstration before the start of the trip and explain to the passengers how to open emergency exits. If not, the chance to save lives will slip away. There are also practical ways to prevent drivers from dozing off or chatting with the service staff during the trip.

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications should also consider effective ways to assess and train drivers to always be alert. Statistics show that about 80 percent of traffic accidents, including plane crashes, are caused by negligence and that China Airlines ranks fourth in the world in terms of the frequency of plane crashes. As the government's responsibility is to protect people's lives and property, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications should fulfill the duty of ensuring the safety of air, sea, and land travel. It is not enough for the authorities to merely say "be careful next time" or impose a fine.

Huang Kun-yen is a professor emeritus of medicine at National Cheng Kung University.

Translated by Grace Shaw
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