Bus drivers overworked, stressed out – study

MANILA, Philippines – A television report on Friday said that drivers are overworked and have low self-esteem, yet they get all the blame amid rising number of road accidents involving passenger buses. GMA evening news 24 Oras on Friday reported that the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has conducted seminars for drivers of bus companies that recently figured in road accidents. Reporter Ruth Cabal said that drivers who attended the seminar were taught traffic rules, emergency procedures and costumer relations and even stress management. The Department of Health, also involve in the LTFRB program, pointed out that the seminar is necessary amid the study that most of the road accident were caused by human error. A report of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)- Traffic Accident Reporting and Analysis System shows that human error caused 4,383 road accidents from January to October 2008. The figure was very far from the 389 road accidents caused by vehicle defects and 78 accidents caused by road defect in the same period in 2007. This big number of human error as a factor in road accidents was attributed to the long hour of driving, running up to 12 - 18 hours daily, prompted by the desire to reach their quota and get higher commission from the bus operators. “Sobra ng kapaguran ‘yon at saka ang mental state nila hindi lang kapaguran. Nandyan na rin ang stress, pagkainis hindi lang sa sarili siguro sa environment na rin, madali silang mainis," explained by Dr. Cecille Magturo, manager, DOH Safety Program. Meanwhile, an analysis from the University of the Philippines indicated that many of the bus drivers lack knowledge on traffic rules and have low self esteem, the report added. “One of our objectives is to increase their self esteem. Dito hindi lang namin sila tuturan, na basta driver lang sila. Hindi lang basta driver sila may big responsibility sila sa society, sila kasi ang nagdadala ng mga pasahero," said Engr. Aileen Mappala, UP Nat’l Center for Transportation Studies. The DOH said that unless the commission scheme as basis for the bus driver salary is corrected, the attitude of the driver in the road will not improve immediately. The DOH also advises the driver to have a six-hour complete rest and good nutrition. “Six hours of sleep and good nutrition…kahit papaano may regular medical check up. Dapat ‘yan ma-impose natin sa mga (bus) operators," Magturo said. The DOH also pushed for nuero- psychological examination as requirement for driver’s license renewal, which was already recommended by the LTFRB. - Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV