Don't let buses become 'evil spirits'

(Baonghean) - In just half a year, a series of accidents caused by buses that left 16 people dead or injured have caused many people to consider this vehicle as a "monster". Along with that, the situation of drivers encroaching on lanes, speeding, and squeezing pedestrians... occurs continuously.

Nghi Loc District Police recently initiated a case and prosecuted Le Xuan Tham (46 years old, residing in Block 4, Dien Chau town) for "Violating regulations on road traffic control" leading to death.

Tham is a bus driver for Dong Bac bus company, Nghe An branch - one of the bus companies that has caused the most accidents in Nghe An recently. The incident shows that on the afternoon of July 15, Tham was driving bus with license plate 37B - 000.47 in the direction of Vinh - Cau Giat. When reaching the intersection between the old National Highway 1A and the new National Highway 1A (Nghi Yen commune, Nghi Loc district), the bus driven by Tham collided with a motorbike driven by Ms. Le Thi Lan (residing in Nghia Minh commune, Nghia Dan district).

Mrs. Lan was carrying her husband behind her. The collision caused Mrs. Lan and her husband to fall onto the road, unconscious. She was taken to the hospital by local people, but Mrs. Lan later died due to severe injuries.

Drivers sign a commitment to safe driving. Photo: Tien Hung

What is condemnable is that after causing a serious accident, instead of helping the victim and reporting to the authorities, driver Le Xuan Tham erased all traces of the scene. Tham hurriedly took the victim's motorbike away from the scene, parked it in a house on the side of the road, then called the company to inform them to bring the bus that caused the accident to the company's parking lot. Upon receiving the report, Nghi Loc District Police arrived at the scene to carry out the procedures according to regulations.

However, at this time, the only scene left only skid marks on the road. Based on information from the people, the police asked the bus company to bring the driver to report the incident. At the investigation agency, driver Le Xuan Tham admitted to the violations. After reviewing Tham's file, the authorities discovered that this driver was a long-term drug addict who had been forced to go to a rehabilitation center many times. Previously, Tham was also sentenced to 2 years in prison by the People's Court of Dien Chau district for illegal possession of drugs. More than a month ago, he applied to be a driver for the Dong Bac Bus Company and was accepted.

One day after the above accident, at noon on July 16, the same Dong Bac bus running on the Vinh - Hoang Mai route, when reaching Yen Ly bridge (Dien Chau), suddenly crashed into an electric pole and continued to drive straight into a group of people taking shelter from the rain near the bridge. The sudden collision caused 1 person to die on the spot, 3 others fell into the river. Only when it crashed into the bridge railing, the bus stalled did it stop. Authorities determined that the accident occurred because the driver could not control his speed.

These are just two of a series of recent bus accidents in the province. These incidents speak to the moral degradation of many drivers. Many bus companies gamble with the lives of road users for profit.

Discussing this issue, driver NVT (43 years old) said that the job of driving a bus is too stressful. “The company always sets out many regulations on time that drivers must follow or else they will be fined. That is why there are cases of speeding, squeezing other companies’ buses on the same route to compete for passengers…”

A bus accident in Nghe An. Photo: CTV

Faced with this situation, on August 1, the Department of Transport organized a training session to improve ethics for more than 300 bus drivers, with the hope of overcoming the situation of buses speeding and overtaking recklessly, and improving the ethics and professional awareness of drivers. At the training session, the leader of the Department of Transport said that currently, there are nearly 300 buses operating on 20 routes in the province. Only 4 districts have no buses operating due to their remote location.

Buses are gradually becoming the main means of transportation for people. However, according to statistics from the Traffic Police Department (Nghe An Provincial Police), since the beginning of the year, there have been 13 bus accidents in the province, killing 8 people and injuring 8 others. Bus companies that caused many accidents include Dong Bac and Thach Thanh...

Believing that the main cause of the above situation is the low level of professional ethics of vehicle drivers and the lax management of drivers by transport units, Mr. Nguyen Que Su - Deputy Director of the Department of Transport said that in the near future, the Department will strengthen inspection, supervision and strictly handle bus companies that allow drivers to speed, overtake recklessly, and compete, causing unsafe conditions for passengers when participating in traffic.

During the training session, Mr. Vuong Quoc Tuan - a teacher at the Central Driving Training Center discussed with the drivers the causes of traffic insecurity, and disseminated legal regulations and sanctions for violations... Thereby, promoting drivers to improve their professional ethics and comply with road traffic laws. 300 drivers of bus companies in the area also signed a commitment to raise awareness of professional ethics of vehicle operators to reduce traffic accidents; towards the goal of building a friendly, civilized and safe public transport./.

Tien Hung