Why fatal bus accidents are so common in developing countries

AAt least 20 people died on Wednesday when a high-speed bus plunged into a ravine in a mountainous region of southwest Pakistan. It is the latest macabre headline – after similar incidents earlier this month, last month and last year in Pakistan – highlighting the frequent deaths associated with bus travel in developing countries – a pattern that experts attribute to factors such as poor infrastructure and inadequate safety protocols.

Pakistan is one of the most dangerous places in the world for bus travel. But the problem of frequent, fatal bus accidents is widespread in all developing countries from Asia to Africa and America. There, buses are still an indispensable means of transport, especially for the rural population, because there is no comprehensive rail network.

While buses are among the safest modes of transport in the US and Europe, researchers have found that the opposite is true in developing countries: bus travel is notoriously deadly there.

Some researchers explain why there are so many serious bus accidents in developing countries, arguing that the biggest problem lies in the behavior of bus drivers. A 1999 study in Karachi, Pakistan, attributed the disproportionately high number of fatal bus accidents – compared to road accidents – to “risky behavior” by both bus passengers and bus drivers, such as jumping from moving buses or stopping in the middle of the road.

A more recent 2023 study of bus accidents in five developing countries – Nepal, Zimbabwe, Thailand, Tanzania and India – identified bus driver error as the “predominant” factor in accidents and recommended better training programs for drivers. Another 2022 study looking at accidents in Thailand found that fatigued or non-obeying drivers were among the main factors in serious bus accidents in the country, particularly in the rural north.

Other researchers, meanwhile, point to poor infrastructure, including road construction and inadequate lighting, which makes it difficult for bus drivers to navigate the roads. After the bus crash in northern Pakistan earlier this month, which also killed at least 20 people, officials attributed the accidents in that region to heavy rain and muddy ground that made highways slippery.

Last December, 17 people died when a bus with faulty brakes drove into a ravine in central Philippines, on a stretch of road that locals called the “killer curve.” A local official said at the time that “the engineering design of this road is very flawed.”

Another major cause of bus accidents, researchers say, is inadequate vehicle maintenance and a lack of enforcement of safety protocols. A study of serious bus accidents in China found that safety precautions were often not properly implemented – a result of lax government regulations and inadequate oversight within transportation companies.

Earlier this month, 11 people, mostly high school students, died in Indonesia after a bus veered off its lane on a bend and collided with other vehicles. The bus driver, who survived the accident, was initially arrested and declared a suspect. Local authorities later blamed the accident on faulty brakes and said the bus’s safety certification had expired – which critics say suggests the accident could have been avoided.

“There are so many anomalies in this accident that one wonders if it could have been prevented,” said a public transport advocate. South China Morning Post“the government authorities had done their job carefully.”

To reduce the number of traffic fatalities in the future, researchers pointed to the need to educate the public about road safety and to enact stricter government regulations. Others suggested measures including “improving road conditions outside urban areas, promoting pedestrian infrastructure, reminding drivers of high-risk situations, providing safety instructions when improving the quality of bus service, and recording bus accidents.”