Illegal night express bus racing ring cracked down

KUALA LUMPUR--For night express bus passengers, the nightmare of sitting on a bus, unaware that they are part of a race is finally over. The night express bus illegal racing ring, which has been operating for nearly 10 years, causing the death of drivers and hundreds of passengers, has finally been brought down in a raid last night along the North South Expressway. 132 drivers were detained and 256 busses were confiscated during the raid.

Held on major highways, the night express bus race has long been a well kept secret in the underground racing community. Even regular express bus users were unaware of it. Salmiah Wahid, 40, a housewife from Kubang Kerian who takes the express bus regularly for the past 10 years, was one of them.

"The bus drivers do go fast, even at night when there's low visibility, but that's pretty common here in Malaysia. I did feel odd, though, when the bus driver would tell us to gather at one side of the bus whenever we're making a sharp turn.

"I thought it was just standard procedure. Not for one second did it cross my mind that he was using us as a counterweight."

The night express bus race was divided into 3 categories: A few passengers, full, and over JPJ regulations. Races were usually scheduled around a national holiday, when people will usually flock to fill up the express busses, eager to return to their hometown. This is to ensure that all three of the weight classes will not be disrupted.

The busses were also modified extensively to give the bus drivers as much advantage as possible during the race. Upon inspection, most of the 256 busses that were confiscated were equipped with carbon fibre parts, spoilers, a nitrous oxide system, and a broken toilet to ensure no passenger would use it, which could cause unnecessary weight distribution at the rear end.

Kuala Lumpur OCPD (North by Northwest) Asst Comm Hamid Albab said it might be suspicious, but it's normal that the passengers weren't aware that an illegal racing ring was behind it.

"Sure, there were telltale signs such as flame decals on the side of the bus, scantily clad women waving the races off, and deaths resulting from a bus crashing into a divider because he was driving like a reckless maniac at night. But you probably won't think illegal night express bus race, not unless someone points them out to you."

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