Minibus highway drifting straight along the road bombs removed by mechanism

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Written by: Comment Editor

2020-04-03 16:30

Recently, a video has been circulating on the Internet. On Wednesday (April 1), a 44A minibus suddenly swung left and right while carrying passengers, cut the double white line, and then approached the stone bridge near the high-speed bridge. The driving route is like a "linear drift". Screaming and crying, but the driver was suspected to be unconscious and unmoved. During this period, someone approached to control the minibus, someone opened the door, and the scene was chaotic. Police arrested a 57 歳 minibus driver for suspected dangerous driving on Thursday (2). The minibus involved has also been detained for inspection.

Traffic police found the involved minibus at Tuen Mun West Rail Station minibus terminus. (Photo by Deng Bailiang)

It's best to check in early

After the video came to light, many "air-conditioners" on the Internet accused passengers of shouting, and also said that they should not rob, drive doors, and stop highways. Regardless of whether the passenger's approach is correct, the Air-Conditioner imagines that passengers can fasten their seat belts in silence when facing life and death, which is difficult for strong men. I also want to reflect on why the driver is still unconscious and can still pick up passengers at work.

The driver involved is 57 years old and has not yet reached the age to be renewed for annual medical examination. According to the law, license plate holders aged 70 or above are required to renew their license every one to three years and submit a "Physical Examination Certificate" signed by a registered doctor for approval by the Transport Department. With the 70-year threshold as the threshold, the government may be worthy of review from this incident.

Statistics from the Transport Department show that there were 23,000 drivers involved in traffic accidents in Hong Kong in 2018, of which 3,737 were aged 60 to 69 and 520 were aged 70 or above. Compared with 2014, the accident rates for drivers in the 60-69 and 70-year-old groups increased by 39% and 76%, respectively. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University also conducted research in 2018, and found that the older the tester, the less able to respond to emergencies such as pedestrians crossing the road and sudden braking of the front car.

Although physical conditions vary from person to person, age does not necessarily reflect the level of health, but from the result of a higher accident rate after the age of 60, the government should push forward the annual renewal requirement to the age of 60 or even earlier. Fortunately, this incident did not lead to a tragedy, but passengers are not guaranteed to survive every time. The government should reform the professional driver renewal system before the accident, so that more professional drivers can undergo medical examinations, which not only protects the safety of passengers, but also ensures the health of drivers.

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Medical examination for professional drivers should be funded by the government

It is not only the age requirement for renewal that needs to be reformed, but also the details of the health check at the time of renewal are also worthy of government research to tighten. After the driver has undergone a physical examination, the "medical examination certificate" issued by the registered doctor only has "recommendations that can be referred to the examination scope", such as vision, hearing, mental state, coordination, etc., but there are no mandatory items that must be inspected , Blood pressure, blood sugar testing, or driver's cognitive ability are not required. Moreover, the certificate only requires the doctor to fill in the oral answer. Whether the driver's physical and mental conditions are suitable for driving may not be accurately reflected in the certificate.

From the driver's point of view, with the increase in medical examination items, it will be accompanied by high medical examination costs. The income of professional drivers is limited, and the cost will burden them. The vacancies of professional drivers may also increase greatly. However, to fully integrate the driver's medical examination into the public medical system, it will undoubtedly "pressurize" the public hospitals that are currently on the verge of explosion. Therefore, the government should consider funding professional drivers who meet the age requirements, and provide certain subsidies every year to allow professional drivers to be inspected at designated private hospitals every one to three years. There are too many traffic accidents. Minibuses swinging left and right on the highway, I believe no Hong Kong people will be willing to catch them.

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