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One in 10 bus drivers at Pulogadung Station fail medical check
One in every ten bus drivers at Pulogadung bus station has failed government-initiated medical checkups in the last two weeks ahead of Idul Fitri, as people travel homeward in a local tradition known as mudik. Almost three-quarters of the buses also failed the ramp check.
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Eko Suwardoyo (left), a bus driver who has just arrived at the bus station from Cirebon, West Java takes medical checkups at Pulogadung bus station in East Jakarta on July 4, 2016. The tests are part of efforts to minimize road accidents and fatalities during the homecoming (mudik) season. (The Jakarta Post/Muhammad Reza)
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ne in every ten bus drivers at Pulogadung bus station has failed government-initiated medical checkups in the last two weeks ahead of Idul Fitri, as people travel homeward in a local tradition known as mudik. Almost three-quarters of the buses also failed the ramp check.
Bus station head Hengky Risakotta said 11 percent, or 26 out of 228 drivers failed their medical checkups, mostly on account of hypertension after driving for hours. One in every 10 of them was deemed unfit for their jobs.
“We examine the drivers and buses only twice a year during the biggest annual holidays, Idul Fitri and Christmas,” he told The Jakarta Post at the bus station in East Jakarta on Monday.
The tests were carried out between June 24 and July 4 as part of efforts to minimize road accidents and fatalities during the mudik season. Last year, the National Police reported 3,049 road accidents during Idul Fitri that claimed 657 lives.
Eko Suwardoyo, a bus driver who had just arrived at the bus station from Cirebon, West Java, on Monday evening said that his blood pressure was high after being examined by doctors.
“The doctors suggested that I rest,” Eko told the Post.
Meanwhile, 71 percent of 431 buses at the bus station, or 306 buses, also failed to pass the road-safety examination, mostly for failing to meet the seatbelt requirement, as well as lighting, brakes and tire standards, Hengky said. (rez/ags)
