Crash reignites debate over how workers are transported
Straits Times, Published on Aug 06, 2013
SUNDAY's crash on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) which left a
pickup truck on its side and nine construction workers injured has
reignited the debate over how workers are transported.
Companies are being urged to start hiring buses for their workers instead of using lorries.
The issue came under the spotlight in 2010 when three Chinese nationals were killed after the overloaded lorry they were in skidded and overturned.
In the wake of the public debate which followed, the Government brought forward the deadline for new safety rules requiring, for instance, light lorries which ferry workers to fix canopies and higher
side railings.
The pickup that overturned on Sunday after a BMW car crashed into it met these requirements, said the construction company involved.
This shows that tightening safety standards does not go far enough, said Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics chief executive Bridget Tan. "Lorries are meant to carry things, not people. It's a question of dignity."
The director of Safety@Work consultancy, Mr Raj Singh, said it was a question of money. Lorries can carry both equipment and people. He said: "I have seen in other countries, they use buses to ferry workers. Lorries are a lot cheaper. But they don't have seat belts, so they're not very safe."
Industry experts said ferrying workers in pickups is not only a cost-saving measure, but one that is also logistically efficient.
Straits Construction executive director Kenneth Loo pointed out that it would be uneconomical for companies with few workers at each worksite to charter buses.
BD Cranetech director Jeffrey Lim revealed that his firm spends about $1,200 every month hiring a bus to make twice-daily trips five times a week to shuttle his workers to and from their worksite.
The cost of renting a 20-seater bus to make one trip can range between $80 and $120, he added.
Mr Or Toh Wat, the group managing director of construction firm OKP Holdings, argued that the use of buses just to ferry workers will only add to congestion on roads here. "There will be a heavy impact," he said.
One worker died and 12 were injured in March after a lorry got into an accident on the PIE with a car.
Last year, three similar deaths were reported.
Labour MP Yeo Guat Kwang said that over the last few years, a lot of effort has gone into improving safety but added that "each accident is still one too many". "What I'm concerned about is the root of the problem - which is the behaviour of unsafe drivers, be it lorry drivers or other motorists."
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Land Transport Authority said that since September 2009, enhanced safety measures have been progressively implemented. It urged all employers, lorry owners and drivers to comply with regulations and practise safe driving habits.
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Two injured workers in ICU
TWO of the nine construction workers injured in Sunday's early-morning collision between a BMW car and a lorry are in intensive care.
One of them fractured his skull and suffered internal bleeding after he was flung out of the lorry, said project manager William Neo of Hon Industries, their employer, yesterday.
The man, a Chinese national in his 30s, had an operation yesterday and will have another today.
He was in stable condition at the National University Hospital (NUH) yesterday, said Mr Neo.
The second critically injured worker is an Indian national. He has a blood clot in his brain and doctors at Alexandra Hospital, where he is hospitalised, will decide today if he needs surgery.
The car driver, who is in his 20s, has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving.
The car had slammed into the back of the lorry and seven of the nine men were reportedly flung out when it tipped onto its side.
The car driver is believed to be out on bail.
Mr Neo said three workers have since been discharged from hospital while two are still at NUH and another two at Alexandra.
Said Mr Neo, 41: "We're angry this has happened and are consulting our lawyers."
MARYAM MOKHTAR and LINETTE LAI
Companies are being urged to start hiring buses for their workers instead of using lorries.
The issue came under the spotlight in 2010 when three Chinese nationals were killed after the overloaded lorry they were in skidded and overturned.
In the wake of the public debate which followed, the Government brought forward the deadline for new safety rules requiring, for instance, light lorries which ferry workers to fix canopies and higher
side railings.
The pickup that overturned on Sunday after a BMW car crashed into it met these requirements, said the construction company involved.
This shows that tightening safety standards does not go far enough, said Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics chief executive Bridget Tan. "Lorries are meant to carry things, not people. It's a question of dignity."
The director of Safety@Work consultancy, Mr Raj Singh, said it was a question of money. Lorries can carry both equipment and people. He said: "I have seen in other countries, they use buses to ferry workers. Lorries are a lot cheaper. But they don't have seat belts, so they're not very safe."
Industry experts said ferrying workers in pickups is not only a cost-saving measure, but one that is also logistically efficient.
Straits Construction executive director Kenneth Loo pointed out that it would be uneconomical for companies with few workers at each worksite to charter buses.
BD Cranetech director Jeffrey Lim revealed that his firm spends about $1,200 every month hiring a bus to make twice-daily trips five times a week to shuttle his workers to and from their worksite.
The cost of renting a 20-seater bus to make one trip can range between $80 and $120, he added.
Mr Or Toh Wat, the group managing director of construction firm OKP Holdings, argued that the use of buses just to ferry workers will only add to congestion on roads here. "There will be a heavy impact," he said.
One worker died and 12 were injured in March after a lorry got into an accident on the PIE with a car.
Last year, three similar deaths were reported.
Labour MP Yeo Guat Kwang said that over the last few years, a lot of effort has gone into improving safety but added that "each accident is still one too many". "What I'm concerned about is the root of the problem - which is the behaviour of unsafe drivers, be it lorry drivers or other motorists."
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Land Transport Authority said that since September 2009, enhanced safety measures have been progressively implemented. It urged all employers, lorry owners and drivers to comply with regulations and practise safe driving habits.
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Two injured workers in ICU
ST, Published on Aug 06, 2013
TWO of the nine construction workers injured in Sunday's early-morning collision between a BMW car and a lorry are in intensive care.
One of them fractured his skull and suffered internal bleeding after he was flung out of the lorry, said project manager William Neo of Hon Industries, their employer, yesterday.
The man, a Chinese national in his 30s, had an operation yesterday and will have another today.
He was in stable condition at the National University Hospital (NUH) yesterday, said Mr Neo.
The second critically injured worker is an Indian national. He has a blood clot in his brain and doctors at Alexandra Hospital, where he is hospitalised, will decide today if he needs surgery.
The car driver, who is in his 20s, has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving.
The car had slammed into the back of the lorry and seven of the nine men were reportedly flung out when it tipped onto its side.
The car driver is believed to be out on bail.
Mr Neo said three workers have since been discharged from hospital while two are still at NUH and another two at Alexandra.
Said Mr Neo, 41: "We're angry this has happened and are consulting our lawyers."
MARYAM MOKHTAR and LINETTE LAI
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