SPAD to investigate PLUS highway bus crash

The wrecked tour bus which killed eight when it crashed into a ditch along the highway near the Tapah toll plaza. – The Malaysian Insider by Afif Abd Halim, January 15, 2015.The tour bus accident which killed eight on the North-South Expressway has prompted the country’s land public transport body to launch an investigation into incident.State news agency Bernama quoted the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) as saying in a statement today that it will work together with other agencies to study all documents related to the management of driver and maintenance of the tour bus."Besides, safety audit will also be carried out on the operation of the bus company involved in the accident," it said.The others involved in the investigation are the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros), Royal Malaysian Police and the Road Transport Department (RTD).The LBS Travel and Tours bus, which was carrying 30 passengers from Kuala Kurau to Cameron Highlands, crashed into a ditch along the North-South Expressway near the Tapah toll plaza early this morning.The bus hit a lorry tyre on the right lane causing it to skid and hit a vehicle parked on the emergency lane, before it plunged into a ditch and caught fire.The dead are Lim Soo Lan, 59; Tan Ah Ba, 65; Tan Chan Hing, 49; Aw Ah Poh, 56; Tan Ah Baa, 64; Ong Ah Yook, 58; Sin Ah Guat, 54; and Jayagunasgaran Mariapen, 40. One of them is the driver of the bus.Tapah police chief Superintendent Somsak Din Keliaw said 7 passengers died at the scene while the eighth was pronounced dead at the hospital.Tapah police added that 21 other passengers were injured while 2 escaped unhurt.The bodies were sent for post-mortem at the Tapah Hospital.Bernama also reported that Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, a member of the National Road Safety Council, urged the Transport Ministry and other relevant authorities to review the council's recommendations in dealing with the various factors which contributed to road accidents such as human factors, road engineering and bus conditions.He said the recommendations were stated in the report produced after the Genting Highlands' bus tragedy in August 2013 which killed 37 passengers. – January 15, 2015.