It seems that the problem of tired drivers of double-deck buses – which can carry up to 150 passengers – just won’t go away.
A recent survey reports a staggering 45% of the drivers sampled (who work for Citybus and New World First Bus) Feel Sleepy when Driving.
Now, whether this is because, as the pressure group organising the survey would have us believe, drivers should only be working 44 hours a day rather than the 50-60 that some are said to be working, or whether it is because the companies turn a blind eye to safety and do not run fatigue management training courses of the type that are common in countries such as Australia, it is assuredly a worrying statistic.
If I were running a bus company in Hong Kong, a place notorious for the late habits of its populace and for the cramped and noisy conditions of its public housing estates – conditions that are not conducive to a good night’s sleep – one of my first priorities would be to constantly alert drivers to the dangers of falling asleep at the wheel.
It happened to me when I began a repping job many years ago, as I struggled to adjust to the transition from part-time to full-time driver. I was lucky that I was driving on a country road in Kent and ended up ploughing through a hedge and stopping 18 inches from an apple tree.
In Hong Kong’s crowded urban environment, driving off the road and mounting the pavement is unlikely to result merely in damage to the vegetation. Human life is at stake.
In Hong Kong’s crowded urban environment, driving off the road and mounting the pavement is unlikely to result merely in damage to the vegetation. Human life is at stake.
