A 19-year-old secondary school student was rushed to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre yesterday after he was run over by a bus injuring his right leg while crossing a road in the northern district, in response to which the Public Security Police (PSP) said that the 60-year-old male driver was fined for failing to yield at a zebra crossing, while the Transport Bureau (DSAT) said that the driver had meanwhile been suspended from his duties.
The accident occurred at the junction of Rua da Tribuna (看台街) and Rua Direita do Hipódromo (中心街) at about 2 p.m. yesterday, involving a Transmac bus on the AP1 route and a male student in school uniform. According to the Public Security Police and Fire Services Bureau (CB), the victim was struck by the bus while walking across a zebra crossing, during which his right leg was run over by the bus’s left front wheel, resulting in an open fracture of the right thigh and a right metatarsal laceration*. The victim was losing consciousness when he was admitted to the hospital. The Public Security Police confirmed with the Post yesterday evening that the victim remained hospitalised.
This photo circulating on social media platforms shows the 19-year-old student being run over by a Transmac bus in yesterday’s accident on a zebra crossing in Iao Hon district.
According to the Public Security Police, a breathalyser test conducted on the driver showed that his alcohol concentration was zero grams of alcohol per litre of blood.
Regarding the accident, the bus operator noted in a statement that the bus driver had started working for Transmac in early 2012 and had been assigned to drive the AP1 route for a long period of time, adding that the driver had undergone a medical check-up last month, whose report specified that he was physically able to continue to drive a bus.
As far as the vehicle in question is concerned, the bus operator stated that the bus had undergone routine inspection and maintenance early this month and was in normal technical condition.
DSAT expresses concern, sadness
About two hours after the tragedy, the Transport Bureau issued a statement expressing “great” concern over the incident and its “profound” sadness to the victim, underlining that it has ordered the bus operator to submit a detailed report on the incident, while stepping up safety training and reminders to its bus drivers.
The bureau also stated that it “is continuously reviewing and optimising the city’s zebra crossing facilities”, in particular at busy traffic spots, adding that traffic lights have been installed wherever possible and conditions permit.
Zebra crossings should be designed ‘scientifically’: commentator
As yesterday’s accident was not the first of its kind that has occurred in Iao Hon district, the Post interviewed yesterday Ku Heng Cheong, a member of the government-appointed Transport Advisory Committee, about the design of Macau’s zebra crossings.
In 2021, a similar incident happened in Iao Hon district when two school children were knocked down by a bus on a zebra crossing, with one of them caught under the bus, but both sustained only minor injuries in the accident.
Speaking to the Post via WhatsApp yesterday, Ku quoted the bureau as revealing at a meeting with the Transport Advisory Committee that the setting up of zebra crossings in Macau is being carried out in reference to the experience of different regions, including the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, according to which Macau’s zebra crossings are designed mainly in line with a number of principles for consideration, including the area’s pedestrian flow and pedestrians and drivers’ visibility conditions.
With a view to implementing the most effective zebra crossing marking patterns, he said, the bureau should take into full consideration scientific factors and make adjustments to ensure that the zebra crossings are well designed based on the different conditions in the city’s various districts, adding that apart from increasing the risk to motorists, setting up zebra crossings at junctions could at the same time aggravate the pressure on the area’s traffic flow. He urged the bureau to take into account other factors as well, including the pedestrian and traffic flows in different district, as well as road section design, with the aim of objectively assessing the different locations and conditions of setting up zebra crossings to ensure both pedestrian safety and smooth traffic flow.
Ku also said that while it was inevitable that drivers needed to develop good driving habits to avoid any traffic accidents, pedestrians should also pay close attention to their own safety instead of relying entirely on assuming that drivers are cautious all the time.
* A metatarsal laceration is a cut or tear in the skin and underlying tissues overlying one of the metatarsal bones in the foot. – Poe
