Cheap, cheerful, but dangerous(2)

Drivers are key

Sleeper buses went into operation in China during the early 1990s when the country's rail network was underdeveloped and unable to meet the passenger demand, according to Wang Dongming, a researcher at the Institute of Comprehensive Transportation of National Development and Reform Commission in Beijing.

Some routes for sleeper buses entail hundreds of kilometers, with the longest - between Shanghai and the provinces of Sichuan and Guangdong - clocking in at more than 2,000 km.

Wang said sleeper buses have a number of design flaws, meaning that the aisles are overcrowded and the emergency windows are often difficult to break. However, the driver is the key to safety.

Long-distance buses are required to have two drivers, who each take the wheel for four-hour stretches. But while the laws are fine in theory, in reality they are often ignored by bus companies in search of increased profits.

Wang Yicun, 34, from Yuexi county in Anhui province, drove sleeper buses for eight years. Before new regulations were introduced in 2006, local bus companies could double their ticket prices during the Spring Festival rush. During a single month, drivers could earn as much as 20,000 yuan - as much as they could earn in the rest of the year - so they worked as many hours as possible, even when they were exhausted.

In February 2006, Wang drove a sleeper bus to Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province. He was relieved to reach his destination after a grueling eight-hour drive, but his tight schedule meant he had to return to Yuexi that same evening. After dinner, Wang began a return journey that almost killed him and his 20 passengers.

He said the overnight drive was exhausting and around 1 am he began traversing the winding, fog-blanketed roads of his county. The sight of the passengers fast asleep made Wang feel drowsy and eventually he nodded off. Suddenly, he awoke and got the shock of his life - the bus was only six or seven meters from the edge of the road that led over a steep cliff. Luckily, Wang was able to turn the steering wheel and prevent disaster.

"The passengers and I would have died that night if I had woken one second later," he said. "I dared not tell them what happened when the bus arrived. If I had died, that would have been fine, because it was my error. But I couldn't forgive myself if the passengers had died because of my negligence," he said.

After the incident, Wang refused to drive the overnight shift alone and always traveled with a partner.

In 2007, new regulations came into effect in Anhui province that required two drivers to be on duty simultaneously on long-distance buses, especially sleeper buses. In 2008, the buses were forbidden in the county and Wang changed his profession.

According to the traffic management department of the Ministry of Public Security, 14 out of 27 highway accidents that killed 10 or more people last year occurred in the early morning or after lunchtime, when drivers began to tire. Meanwhile last year, the Ministry of Transport stipulated that all sleeper buses should have a video surveillance system installed and that buses should not operate between 2 am and 5 am.

However, Wang Dongming, the researcher, said the time restrictions are not feasible because passengers always rush to reach their destinations and bus companies always look to maximize profits.

Pictures relayed from the video surveillance system on the bus that crashed in Yan'an on Sunday appeared to show that the driver, Chen Qiang, was extremely fatigued before the accident occurred, according to reports on China Central Television.

Chu Chenggen, 32, a former sleeper bus driver who is also from Yuexi county, said most of his colleagues continued to drive if they did not feel tired after their four-hour stint. "That's when most of the accidents happened," he said.

"The passengers don't want to stop and waste time. They always complained if I rested for a while on the highway," he said.