Escaping culpability

The refusal of 28 commuters to file charges against the bus driver who was responsible for the collision with a truck along the national highway in barangay Mainit, Naga City this month could mean one of three things.

One, while all of them got hurt, they were thankful to have survived and been taken care of by the bus company which paid for their medical expenses. Two, they were only after their belongings left in the wreckage of the bus that tipped over after the collision.

Three, they don’t want to be bothered with the stress of a court trial that will determine the level of culpability of the bus company and their driver in the accident.

Perhaps they thought that since they didn’t lose anything other than valuable time, they would rather get on with life and leave this ugly accident behind them.

If that incident happened elsewhere, say, the United States, the bus company and the driver would be hounded by money claims filed by the passengers’s lawyers until they would cough up a settlement.

Marcial Vasquez, the bus driver, can thank his lucky stars that no one died. That would have meant sure jail time for him.

It was a flimsy excuse he gave for disappearing right after the crash.

He said he rushed to get medical attention for his wounds.

More likely he was was afraid of being lynched, so he lay low till he could surrender to the Naga City police headquarters a day later when things would cool down.

That’s how easy it is for reckless bus drivers to avoid responsibility for their passengers.

First-hand witness accounts said Vasquez was trying to overtake a truck along the highway. He increased speed, crossed to the other lane, then swerved to avoid an oncoming 10-wheeler dump truck. The collision sent the bus tipping into a ditch.

Was he under the influence of liquor, drugs or just an urge for reckless speed? The fellow is about to shrug off the ordeal in the absence of a complaint filed against him. Police or land transport officials should go ahead and stand as complainant on behalf of the public. It’s criminal to let him get away with his daredevil stunt.

It’s common to hear of bus or taxi drivers speeding to maximize a boundary limit, or taking drugs to combat the fatigue caused by long hours on the road.

With the recent agreement of Cebu bus operators to apply for an upgrade of minimum fare rate to P8.50, we can only hope that operators compensate for the increase with assurances their drivers will double efforts to safely transport their passengers and cargo.

The long Holy Week break is up ahead and thousands of Cebuanos, and visitors on holiday, will head for the towns. Buses are the main public transport to the countryside.

It’s up to bus operators to see to it that their drivers don’t act like Marcial Vasquez, who abandoned his good judgement and then his passengers on the road.