Department of Transportation and Communications wants 'black boxes' in buses

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) wants passenger bus firms to equip their units with a “black box” that would monitor their speed, as well as give their drivers a regular salary to prevent tragic road mishaps involving speeding buses.

DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza said a speed monitor in each bus unit will help bus firms keep a check on reckless bus drivers.

“This is to protect them (drivers) also and the riding public,” Mendoza told reporters after meeting with bus operators yesterday afternoon.

Mendoza said DOTC findings show that “human error” was the usual cause of road accidents. “The black box will signal the office of the operator that a driver is overspeeding,” he said.

Mendoza said large trucking companies are already using speed monitors to check on the driving of their drivers.

Mendoza said the DOTC was also looking at deploying traffic personnel in strategic areas in major thoroughfares to conduct random drug and alcohol testing.

Aside from these measures, Mendoza said they will push bus companies to pay their bus drivers regular wages, rather than keep them on a “commission basis.”

He said many road mishaps involving buses involve drivers racing to bus stops to get more passengers and to be able to go on more “rounds.”

However, Mendoza admitted that the DOTC does not have the power to force bus companies to pay regular salaries.

He said existing labor laws prevent the DOTC from implementing such a policy.