Emergency hammer on passenger bus: Just to deal with?

(Baonghean) - Many passenger carsNot equipped with emergency hammers to assist passengers in case of accident, or if there are, they are hidden in hard-to-find places to deal with authorities when checked.

Passengers are uneasy, car owners are worried about losing their cars.

Small, light, with a pointed tip, and a spring added to increase force when used, the emergency hammer is used to break car windows in emergency situations such as fire, sinking or being stuck in a car. Usually, the emergency hammer is equipped with the car and is mounted on the side of the car, inside the passenger compartment. This tool is mandatory equipment for vehicles.

Vinh Bus Station management staff check emergency escape equipment before the bus leaves the station. Photo: Phuong Thao

In recent times, there have been many tragic accidents where vehicles were swept away by floods, caught fire or plunged into water, resulting in the death of the victims. In these cases, if there had been escape tools and the necessary skills, the victims could have kept their lives or not been injured.

On the afternoon of February 25, 2017, on National Highway 46 (through Hung Dao Commune, Hung Nguyen District), an accident occurred between a truck and two passenger cars, causing the sleeper bus to plunge and overturn on the side of the road. At that time, dozens of passengers were on the bus, screaming and calling for help. Fortunately, people nearby broke the windows of the sleeper bus to help those trapped inside the bus out. The accident seriously injured the sleeper bus driver and a passenger. Although there have been many similar cases, emergency hammers are still absent on passenger buses.

In early May 2017, we were on a bus running the Vinh - Que Phong route. Although we searched carefully, we did not see any escape tools on the bus. When we asked the bus owner, the answer we received was that "the escape hammer was lost when hanging on the bus so we did not install it anymore". "So what if we need to use it in an emergency?", the bus owner ignored this question and did not answer.

In addition to the lack of rescue equipment when needed, current passenger buses also do not have any instructions or guidance for passengers on how to escape when the vehicle breaks down, what support tools to use, etc. Many passengers said that they have never seen an escape hammer and do not know how to use it when an accident occurs.

Mr. Vu Hoang Huynh - Head of Vinh Bus Station said that every day at the station there are 230 - 250 departures, both within the province and outside the province. Vehicles must have an emergency hammer to ensure that they are eligible to depart. However, many passenger vehicles when inspected still do not have this tool. If they do, they are not installed in the right position, tied very tightly to the side of the vehicle or are hidden by the vehicle owners in small boxes, locked and placed under the driver's seat.

The reason given by the bus owners is that the loss of the escape hammers often occurs, while the market price for one of these hammers is around 100,000 VND. A driver named Tung running the Vinh - Hanoi route said: "We have installed them very fully, but after a while, we find that a few are missing from the bus. Their compact size makes it difficult for the bus owner to detect when they are lost. So we just keep them in a locked box and take them out when we need to use them."

Tighten inspection and handling

Currently, passenger cars and buses are one of the means of transport that people prioritize because of their convenience and low price... According to Decision No. 09/2011 of the Ministry of Transport on "National technical regulations on technical safety quality and environmental protection for automobiles", passenger cars with 17 - 90 seats or more must be equipped with 4 - 9 emergency hammers; the hammers must be placed in a place where passengers can easily see and take them to break the glass doors in case of an accident.

According to Decree 46/2016/ND-CP on administrative penalties for violations in the field of road and railway traffic, vehicles not equipped with emergency escape devices will be fined from 300,000 to 400,000 VND. According to a leader of the Department of Transport Inspectorate, the inspection and handling of this violation for passenger vehicles is still limited to the level of warning and requesting correction. This form is still not enough of a deterrent, leading to violations by vehicle operators being quite common.

Many hammers were tied to the side of the car by the garage owner to prevent theft. Photo: Phuong Thao

Head of Vinh Bus Station - Mr. Vu Hoang Huynh said, through inspection, it is easy to see that most of the vehicles lacking emergency hammers are district-based vehicles, vehicles that have been used for a long time, and have not been regularly maintained or installed with additional tools and equipment. As for sleeper buses and provincial-based vehicles, the bus company is basically fully equipped, but there are errors in installing them in the right position, installing them incorrectly, or hiding them in hard-to-find places.

Mr. Nguyen Quy Khanh - Director of Nghe An Motor Vehicle Inspection Center also said that when the vehicle is brought to the Center for quality inspection, all tools and equipment are fully installed; but after inspection, the removal, replacement, and installation of additional tools and equipment are not under the control of the center.

From the above reality, it can be seen that the provision of escape tools by bus companies is still a temporary measure, and the factors to ensure safety during travel have not received due attention. First of all, bus owners need to be aware of this issue, put human life first, and not equip for the sake of it or just to fool the authorities.

In addition to installing the correct number of escape tools, the bus companies should instruct passengers on how to use these tools before the bus departs, to ensure safety and initiative when the bus encounters unexpected or urgent problems. Passengers need to be aware of preserving common property on the bus, not arbitrarily disassembling or taking away necessary tools. Because at some point, they will help save the lives of many people.

Phuong Thao