Bus drivers should brake more gently
AS PART of its continuous efforts to improve its bus services,
SBS Transit has upgraded its bus fleet to include new Scania Euro 4
buses.
While I do not take issue with the purported benefits of these
new buses, I hope SBS Transit can make it a point to tell its bus
captains to avoid slamming the brakes when driving these buses.
It has been mentioned before that these buses are more jerky
because their brakes are more sensitive than those of older models.
Bus captains used to slamming the less sensitive brakes of older
buses have yet to adjust to these new buses.
Nevertheless, these buses have been deployed for some time, so
how much more do they need before they remember to brake more
gently? Moreover, this explanation does not hold for new drivers,
especially those who have not driven buses before and are therefore
not exposed to older buses with the less responsive brakes.
I recall once being on board a Scania Euro 4 bus that was
jerking so violently that a hefty Caucasian female passenger, who
was standing near the exit, was almost flung out of the bus through
the windscreen.
She good-humouredly laughed it off, but it would have been no
laughing matter if she had been flung out. SBS Transit should teach
its drivers a gentler, more passenger-friendly way to brake.
Thomas Lim
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_376421.html
