Hong Kong Bus Crash Kills at Least 18 and Injures Over 60
February 11, 2018 by admin
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HONG KONG — At least 18 people were killed and dozens of others injured when a double-decker bus crashed on Saturday in a rural area of Hong Kong, the authorities said.
The bus was traveling from a horse-racing track in the district of Sha Tin to Tai Po Center in Hong Kong’s New Territories when it turned over, shearing off part of its roof, according to news media reports. The bus was operated by Kowloon Motor Bus, one of the main bus operators in Hong Kong.
At least 62 others were injured in the crash, including 15 people hospitalized in serious condition and 10 who were critical, the Hong Kong Hospital Authority said.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, the police said. Passengers said the driver had been behind schedule and driving fast, Now News, a cable news outlet, reported. One man told the outlet as he sat on the roadside with his head wrapped in a bandage that the driver had seemed as if he were flying an airplane “around the bends.”
The crash was the deadliest in Hong Kong since 2003, when 21 people were killed when a double-decker bus broke through a guardrail and careened off a road.
While Hong Kong has a well-developed and generally safe public transportation system, fatal bus crashes have persisted. In September, a bus driven by a man who had worked several consecutive 13-hour days crashed, killing three people.
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The latest crash is likely to revive concerns about the long working hours of bus drivers in Hong Kong. Drivers have complained that they receive low base salaries, $1,700 to $2,100 a month, and are compelled to drive long hours to earn more. More than three-quarters of bus drivers work 50 to 60 hours a week, according to a 2016 survey conducted by the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions.
Guidelines put in place in 2010 limit drivers to 14 working hours a day and a maximum of 11 driving hours. Drivers’ unions have called for pay raises and a drop in the maximum driving hours.
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s top official, said after the crash Saturday that she was creating an independent panel led by a judge to examine the safety of public transportation, particularly buses.
Ms. Lam said after the crash last year that she didn’t believe new laws governing drivers’ hours were an answer, and that any solution had to address broader questions of worker shortages.
“It is a question of how we can ensure the bus operation is safe in Hong Kong,” she said, “which requires also not only regulation on the part of the government, but also full support and cooperation of the bus companies.”
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Justin Trudeau’s Motorcade Involved in Minor Crash in California
February 11, 2018 by admin
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Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press
Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, was uninjured after his motorcade was involved in a minor crash in Simi Valley, Calif., on Friday night.
Mr. Trudeau’s motorcade was being escorted by the California Highway Patrol Dignitary Protection Section at 7:30 p.m. after leaving the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
Four miles from the library, a police motorcycle stopped to block the road when the driver of a passenger vehicle tried to make a left turn and pull around the motorcade, Cmdr. Roy Jones of the Simi Valley Police Department said in an interview on Saturday.
The police motorcycle began to move and was struck by the vehicle, throwing the police officer into another police motorcycle in the motorcade. Mr. Trudeau’s vehicle did not stop.
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The injured police officer was taken to Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, Calif., with minor injuries. The driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene and was not given a summons. Commander Jones said the episode was under investigation, including whether the motorcade was using lights and sirens as required.
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“It’s still under investigation but likely the driver of the vehicle will be found at fault,” he said.
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