After every major bus accident in this country, the same scenario plays out. Cameras rush to the scene, footage of the accident is circulated for a few days, then the blame is placed on the captain behind the wheel and the case is closed. But no one asks the real question: Under what conditions did that captain sit behind the wheel?
Bus captains are one of the most heavily exploited laborers in this country. These people, who travel thousands of kilometers and carry the lives of hundreds of people, are often employed under conditions that do not befit human dignity. They drive for hours from one city to another, and then, after a few hours of sleep, they are sent on a return trip without a proper rest at their destination.
The human body has a limit. Lack of sleep, fatigue and exhaustion are synonymous with death behind the wheel. Despite this, some companies see their captains as a part of a machine for the sake of more trips and more profit. The right to rest is seen as a cost item and human life is put on the back burner.
Then, when a disaster occurs, everyone talks about the driver. However, what should really be questioned is the system that made that driver work for days without rest. It is the mechanisms that fail to fulfill their duty of supervision that should be questioned. What should be questioned is the understanding of the company that puts human life behind the greed for profit.
Many fatal accidents on the roads today are not the fault of a driver, but of a system of exploitation that has been turned a blind eye for years. Captains cannot rest, do not have decent working conditions and struggle to survive in harsh conditions away from their families. Yet they are the first to be blamed in public.
If accidents are really to be prevented, the working and resting conditions of the people behind the wheel must be strictly monitored. The understanding that makes the responsibility of the companies invisible and puts all the burden on the shoulders of the captains should be abandoned.
Because putting a sleep deprived captain behind the wheel is not just a working arrangement, it is a blatant invitation to disaster.