KMB Eyes Technology To Detect Drowsy Drivers

Kowloon Motor Bus said on Monday it would install devices to detect drowsy drivers on all of its buses, if a trial currently being carried out proves to be satisfactory.

The safety measure is one of several the bus operator is planning to introduce after a fatal bus crash on Tai Po Road in February which killed 19 people and injured dozens more.

In a document submitted to the Independent Review Committee on Hong Kong’s Franchised Bus Service, KMB said belts would be fitted to all seats on all the buses the company has bought since March 5.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam set up the committee in a bid to improve bus services after the Tai Po accident. Government officials, bus operators and bus drivers will give submissions during the hearings.

On Monday morning, the Permanent Secretary for Transport, Joseph Lai, said there had been a drop in the number of bus accidents over the last five years as a result of the government’s ongoing efforts to improve bus safety.

Lai said there were 2,187 bus accidents in 2017, down from almost 2,300 in 2013, despite a 3.3 percent increase in the number of buses running on the roads.

But he admitted that there is still room for the government to do more to regulate and monitor services provided by franchised bus companies.

Earlier in the day, a KMB bus was involved in a collision with a minibus in Sha Tin, an accident that left 10 people injured.