JPJ To Audit Bus Operator Involved In UPM Crash

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 (Bernama) -- The Road Transport Department (JPJ) will carry out a Safety Inspection and Audit (JISA) on the company whose bus was involved in an accident while transporting a kindergarten group along Jalan Persiaran Universiti 1, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), in Serdang recently.

Its director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli said JPJ received a report on the incident yesterday and has handed it over to the police for further investigation.

“JPJ will conduct a JISA on the bus operator and take further action once the audit report is completed,” he told Bernama today.

Yesterday, Serdang district police chief ACP Muhamad Farid Ahmad said the incident, which occurred at around 12.18 pm, involved a bus carrying five teachers and 30 kindergarten children on an outing.

Dashcam footage that went viral on social media showed the bus going out of control before veering off the road and crashing into a tree.

Three children and one teacher sustained head injuries and were treated as outpatients at Serdang Hospital, while the bus driver was detained to assist in investigations under Section 42 of the Road Transport Act 1987.

In a statement issued today, Muhamad Farid said the accident is believed to have been caused by the bus driver falling into a microsleep due to insufficient rest.

He said the 44-year-old male driver has been remanded for two days starting today to assist in the investigations.

Preliminary investigations also found that the driver was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the incident.

“However, records show he has 13 traffic summonses registered under his name,” he said.

-- BERNAMA