Hong Kong
Consumer
Advocates

  Safe product | Safe service | Fair practice
 
 
English
Home
Campaign
Complain
Sticky News
HKCA Notice Board
 
21 






 



Existing Railings not safe for double-decker buses
According to report appearing in SCMP, the safety railings in question measures 1.1 meter, designed to withstand impact of 1.5 tonnes traveling at 113 kph at an angle of 20 degrees, translating to a momentum of 169.5 ton-kph.

The death bus with height about 4.35m, was reported to weigh in 25 tonnes without bus riders. Suppose it was traveling at the max speed allowed, i.e. 70 kph, and hit the safety railing at 20degree, the resulting momentum would be 175 ton-kph, exceeding the designed safe limit. Just right before the plunge, bus speed was expected to be well over the legal limit.

 

The morning of July 10
21 bus riders ate
(Little did they know)
Their last morning meals.
Boarded Route 265M
KMB bus to Tuen Mun
No one could return.

It was said on TV
They remained with the bus
Fell over safety rails
Too short or lacking of guts
To hold stop the bus fall
30 meters down.

Head of the Government
Hurried to the scene
Coat & tie be off
Sweat and tears fell
To make sure that he cared.

Company of the bus
Sent in the manager
$30,000 he promised
To the families of the dead.
To the public he proclaimed
The driver was pro
And the bus was sound
Investigate he would
Don't believe faults be found.

Department of transport
Hurried with an answer
Height not relevant.

Designer of the road
Swore that it's safe.
To standard of the world
The road was built
The height was right
And the cement tight
No one's to blame.

How soon they've forgotten
How blind they've become.
Responsibility on their laps
Height must be correct
Strength be maintained
For the double-decker bus
That daily passes the road.

Company of the bus
Also must know:
Conditions of the road
To safely carry
The designated load
To avoid liability
Of ethics and the law.

Truth revealed to all:
Railing was 1.1
Designed just to stand
A load of 169
Bus measured two decks high
Weighed in twenty-five
At speed of seventy
Drives momentum over 175.

Safety measures exceeded
Newton was called:
Highway railings height
Means death or life.
When master was ignored
Death would surely fall.

Lives of 21
Easy to be dumped
With remains of the bus
More will follow
Only then will they learn.

Mothers of 21
Counting loss of their loves
Were told worth of the dead
Was a mere 30 grands
Accountants on their left
Lawyers on the right
A war they must fight
In the courts of law
For the worth of the 21
And those that might follow.


***


 

Above photo was from Sing Tao Daily

Height does matter
Some officials have claimed that height of railings did not matter.

They were wrong:

("If height of railing not relevant, then they should just build 1-inch height railings," one reader has responded.)

If their observation is correct, a height of zero is also OK. Then there is no need to build any railings.

If height of the railing is above the center of gravity of a double-decker (which has a height over 4m), the bus would not be so easily tipped over as the railings could withstand a bigger impact. (One must take into the length of the force arm when determining when tipping begins.) (As it gets technical, we will go into details when requested)

***

Existing Railings not safe for double-decker buses
According to report appearing in SCMP, the safety railings in question measures 1.1 meter, designed to withstand impact of 1.5 tonnes traveling at 113 kph at an angle of 20 degrees, translating to a momentum of 169.5 ton-kph.

The death bus with height about 4.35m, was reported to weigh in 25 tonnes without bus riders. Suppose it was traveling at the max speed allowed, i.e. 70 kph, and hit the safety railing at 20degree, the resulting momentum would be 175 ton-kph, exceeding the designed safe limit. Just right before the plunge, bus speed was expected to be well over the legal limit.

(photos from SingTao Daily, SCMP, Oriental Daily)


All rights reserved