Special operations brought bus accidents down to 5,975 cases

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have recorded a 37% fall in bus accidents down to 5,975 cases from January to October this year, following a series of special operations.
According to Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department CID (JSPT) director SAC Sharul Othman, the figure for just the first 10 months was a vast improvement compared to 9,462 cases for the whole of last year.
"Police held the Special Bus Operation again for 11 days nationwide starting from Nov 20 to further reduce the accident rate involving public transport to ensure bus drivers and operators adhere to road transport regulations to prevent accidents.
"The special operation focuses on inspecting all types of buses, namely express buses, tourist buses, factory buses, school buses, stage buses and mini buses," he said in a special bus operation media conference at the Sungai Besi toll plaza, here this morning.
He said police would also conduct urine screenings on all express bus drivers before they start their journey.
"A total of 2,544 bus drivers underwent urine tests and 47 drivers were found positive for drugs.
"Actions had already been taken against some of them under Section 15 (1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1957, while others were awaiting their pathological report results," he said.
Sharul Othman said during the operation, police inspected 5,692 buses and issued 1,619 summonses for various violations.
The special bus operation was jointly conducted with Land Public Transport Commission, Road Transport Department, Department of Environment, Immigration Department and the National Anti-Drugs Agency. — Bernama