Sani Express Bus Driver Jailed 4 Years For Reckless Driving

In a traffic court case held in Ipoh, Perak, Mohd Kamil Rashid, the express bus driver of a double-decker bus belonging to Sani Express was handed a 4 year prison sentence. Kamil’s driving license was also suspended for a period of 3 years. A RM10,000 fine that was also imposed by Magistrate Mohamad Ruhizat Abdullah, sealed the driver’s fate.

Readers, I am sure will surely remember the incident whereby 10 passengers of the Sani Express, lost their lives, as it crashed along a highway back in 2009. Under the Road Transport Act 1987, Mohd Kamil Rashid, the bus driver was charged via Section 41(1) with reckless driving and causing the deaths of 10 passengers at KM272.7 of the North – South expressway on 26th December 2009.

When the accident was first reported and appeared in the newspapers in 2009, the public then in fact did not have a clear picture of what had happened that fateful night. Three years have since elapsed the night, the fateful incident occurred. The traffic court case held recently at Ipoh, Perak, has given us a clearer picture of how the incident actually occurred.

What really happened on the night of 26th December, 2009? How did the accident occur, readers would like to inquire.

A study about the circumstances revolving around the incident is important. It will go a long way to assist the relevant authorities, as well as the company or companies involved, to learn from it and prevent similar incidents from happening in the forthcoming future.

The reasons why the accident occurred that night are many as has been revealed in the court case. One was that a double-decker bus should not have been travelling so fast. It was in fact, speeding so to say. Bus drivers of future double-decker buses should keep in view this important fact.

Sources say, the driver was going at more than 90km/h. The courts reiterated that even though the double-decker bus exceeded the speed limit permitted by only 1km/h, it was nevertheless a speed that was in fact dangerous.

Secondly, the bus was said to be swaying from left to right prior to the accident taking place. This proves that the driver of the double-decker bus was unable to control it properly. Excessive speed was most likely to be the contributing factor for this happening. Although the bus driver told the court hearing that he had only exceeded the speed limit of 90km/h, the fact remains that a speed of 90km/h for a double-decker bus to travel, especially at night, would be considered as being fast and dangerous.

With so many passengers inside, the authorities should now consider carefully what the optimum speed of a double-decker bus should be. It in reality endangered the lives of the passengers inside which eventually lead them to their deaths.

Thirdly, according to the driver, Mohd Kamil Rashid, he told the courts that prior to the accident happening, a car from the opposite direction, with its headlights flashing, directly into his eyes, had caused the driver’s vision to be blurred for a few seconds. This caused the accident to take place.

Talking about the problem of blinding, white lights which many vehicles are said to be using these days, this issue of Xenon lights, which is in fact illegal, should be addressed by the authorities, that is the J.P.J. or the police immediately.

I earnestly suggests that the use of the above lights should be looked into seriously. If nothing concrete is done, more accidents will without a doubt take place in the near future, thus endangering the lives of the motoring public.

This article has decided to highlight the reasons why the double-decker bus which belonged to Sani Express crashed on the night of 26th December 2009. Hopefully, by studying all the reasons in greater detail, it would contribute towards preventing such horrific accidents taking place. And as a result, more lives would be spared.

To sum up this short article, three or four major reasons appear to be responsible for the double-decker bus crash. They are:-

a) Excessive speeding.

b) Ferrying excessive number of passengers in the bus itself.

c) Illegal use of certain head lights such as xenon lights by other motorists.
d) The overall construction of the double-decker buses currently used, which appears to be rather flimsy, thus not capable of providing protection to passengers.

By | 2012-09-21T18:07:23+08:00 February 15th, 2012|License Suspension|6 Comments

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6 Comments

  1. seen February 15, 2012 at 11:05 am - Reply

    my friend just got a saman because of not putting a coupon for parking. i was just wondering, do we have to put parking coupon for every parking? or is there a certain area only? (like at school, form 6 students park beside the road with no coupon) i tried the internet, but i only got “how to pay for saman…” I was hoping that you could enlighten me.

    Thank you.

    • Cikgu Yap February 15, 2012 at 8:37 pm - Reply

      Pay up the summons. Everyone has to pay parking fees, don’t you know that?

  2. Kelvin February 15, 2012 at 6:00 pm - Reply

    I believe a clear, publicised, measurable standard for headlights must be available before any law prohibiting use of Xenon lights are proposed. My car in Germany has Xenon lights as standard.

    The headlight standard must be a document stating the allowable cone of illumination, luminosity and other stuff (I’m not too expert in this) included.

    All modifications to a vehicle must include a document whereby it certifies that the vehicle has been inspected by the relevant bodies. This document must be produced anytime the authority demands it and must be available in the vehicle.

    Take an example in Germany where I am now.

    They have standards documented up to thickness of tint down to the clearance of body parts. All private vehicles are required for mandatory inspection after 3 yrs from purchase and every 2 yrs after. There are 2 accredited bodies to avoid a monopoly of either. Any modifications must have accompanying document to ensure road-worthiness, document is checked every inspection and also at every road block if demanded.

    I have a document stating my car is tinted according to law and the document is passed down from my previous owner. Otherwise, I need to send it for inspection to get a new document if it’s lost.

    I guess this can be done in Malaysia as well to avoid gray areas such as workshops claiming a certain tint or headlight passes JPJ approval.

    It might be troublesome, I admit but inspection of my car didn’t take me more than 45 minutes with prior appointment at a cost of EUR65. My workshop even offers free checkup before sending for inspection to avoid longer turnaround times in case repairs can be done beforehand.

    May driving in Malaysia be much safer in the future.

    • Cikgu Yap February 17, 2012 at 11:47 am - Reply

      First and foremost, it is wrong for anyone to say xenon lights are illegal or not allowed to be used in Malaysia. Factory fitted lights which have undergone the proper tests and thus approved are allowed usage.

      The proper documents issued by the authorities should then be kept in the car by the driver. If has to be shown to the police and other relevant authorities during road block operations. The same also applies to tinted glass too.

      However, xenon lights fitted by commercial assessory shops, without the authorities permission / documents are deemed as being illegal. Your revelations regarding use of xenon lights and tinted glasses in Germany are most welcomed. We hope out country will be able to emulate your country in the coming future. Thanks again.

  3. viv February 17, 2012 at 8:25 am - Reply

    Mr Yap, my 9-year old gen-2 auto has recently encountered a few problems. firstly, i cant seem to enter into the (P) perking gear, it seems to stop at (R) reverse. so i have to park at (N) neutral gear. today, when i put the key into ignition, and try to turn on the engine, i hear trippy sounds but nothing happens. i suspected the battery to be weak, but the lights seem fine, only that the meter and digits are tripping when i try to start. is this a battery problem? is it related to my gearbox? my main concern is trying to get a rough idea what the problems might be to avoid being cheated. i live in sentul, and if u have any recommendations on good mechanics please let me know. thanks you so much

    • Cikgu Yap February 19, 2012 at 9:10 am - Reply

      I’m surprised you 9 year old auto has not given you much problems until now. Touch wood, they say.

      Your problems may likely be due to battery. Hopefully, you’ve been sending your vehicle for regular check ups an service by your franchised agents. I also hope you have been checking your transmission oil to ensure that it is at the correct level required. Also that the transmission oil is not leaking. All in all, it would be best if you could send your auto car immediately for a professional advice by your regular mechanic.

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