Bus drivers: Ensure highways are safer to use at night

NIBONG TEBAL: Fellow bus drivers who attended the funeral of M. Jayagunasgaran, 40, are urging the authorities to ensure that highways are safer to use at night.

D. Nathan, 36, who spoke for the group, said driving on highways at night was a dangerous affair.

“We face many dangers, especially along the North-South Expressway.

“Our windscreens have been shattered a few times from stones thrown from overhead passes and sometimes there are also debris and sharp objects on the roads puncturing our tyres.

“It is worse along unlit stretches of highway,” he said at Jayagunasgaran’s house in Taman Seroja, Parit Buntar.

He said entire stretch of the expressway should be lit up to increase visibility and reduce the risk of running over objects.

“Alternatively, drivers should only be asked to make their trips during the day.

“Mechanics are also reluctant to come out to help when we have breakdowns at night,” he said.

Nathan said he and his colleagues would send a petition with 40 signatures to the Transport Ministry to highlight their concerns and propose measures to be taken.

Jayagunasgaran’s employer and owner of LBS Travel and Tours, Loh Beng Hua, 47, said the bus driver had worked for about 20 years with the company.

“He always takes very good care of his bus by servicing and maintaining it. He has always been very hardworking,” he added.

Jayagunasgaran’s mother S. Nagamah, 68, said he was the youngest of six siblings.

“He was the only one taking care of me at home, and closest to me.

“Now he is gone. I don’t know what to do,” said Nagamah.

About 40 family members and friends arrived at the crematorium in Prestavest Memorial Park, Taiping, for the funeral on Jayagunasgaran’s favourite bus – the one he drove most often.