Ferrying workers: Smokescreen regulations won't work
The following letter was published in the Straits Times forum on 16 July 2010.
Ferrying workers: Smokescreen regulations won't work
Jul 16, 2010
I WAS an audit director for the Transport Accidents Commission of the state of Victoria in Australia, and I have seen thousands of files on traffic and transport accidents.
When I first took up my role in Singapore two years ago, I was shocked that workers were crammed into open-top vehicles designed solely for the transport of materials.
This situation seems incongruous with Singapore's image as a safe place to work. Government plans ('Worker-transport safety rules may come sooner'; June 26) to alleviate risk will make no difference to worker death or injury in the case of a major accident.
The Government did not mention any improvement in the securing of workers in the vehicles, or in overhead roll protection.
Instead of designing smokescreen regulations, like the proposed rule to increase space per worker in the back of open-top vehicles, which has no real major impact on safety, the Government should simply make construction companies pay for foreign workers to be transported on buses.
Robert J. Cochrane
Ferrying workers: Smokescreen regulations won't work
Jul 16, 2010
I WAS an audit director for the Transport Accidents Commission of the state of Victoria in Australia, and I have seen thousands of files on traffic and transport accidents.
When I first took up my role in Singapore two years ago, I was shocked that workers were crammed into open-top vehicles designed solely for the transport of materials.
This situation seems incongruous with Singapore's image as a safe place to work. Government plans ('Worker-transport safety rules may come sooner'; June 26) to alleviate risk will make no difference to worker death or injury in the case of a major accident.
The Government did not mention any improvement in the securing of workers in the vehicles, or in overhead roll protection.
Instead of designing smokescreen regulations, like the proposed rule to increase space per worker in the back of open-top vehicles, which has no real major impact on safety, the Government should simply make construction companies pay for foreign workers to be transported on buses.
Robert J. Cochrane
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