22 measures for bus safety implemented

PETALING JAYA: Twenty-two of the 51 recommendations that were put forward by an independent advisory panel to the Transport Ministry following the 2013 Genting Highlands bus crash have been implemented.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (pix) said the remaining measures are being put into effect by the respective agencies and stakeholders.
He said the ministry would make public the status of the implementation via the respective agency's website.
Liow said that among the recommendations being implemented was the establishment of a Transport Safety Board.
"The board will conduct independent and transparent investigations on major safety incidents, research recommendations to improve safety, and monitor and evaluate safety initiatives of all modes of transport," he said in a statement today.
Liow said the Logistic and Land Transport Division under the ministry would also conduct comprehensive audits on public service vehicles, including vehicle design and manufacture, and approval and inspection procedures.
The audit will be conducted and reported in the first quarter of 2017.
Liow added that among the recommendations that have been implemented were mandating all new-model buses manufactured from January 2015 to be installed with speed limiters, and introducing the Safety Star Grading programme in 2013.
In the Genting crash, the country's worst road tragedy, 37 out of 53 passengers were killed when the bus plunged into a 60m ravine.