Tourist transport firms required to have substitute driver on long-haul trips

AMMAN — Tourist transportation companies were given a deadline by regulators until mid next month to recruit spare drivers for long distances, particularly for the greater and lesser Muslim pilgrimages to Mecca (Hajj and umra). 

In an advertisement earlier this week in daily newspapers, the Land Transport Regulatory Commission urged tourist transport firms to provide large buses working on international trips with a spare driver, giving them a deadline until May 15.

Otherwise, such buses would not be allowed to leave border crossings and companies would be subject to legal measures. 

Head of the syndicate representing tourist transport companies, Abdul Bassit Odeh, told The Jordan Times that the measures aim at ensuring the safety of passengers who go to Saudi Arabia for Hajj and umra, noting that the majority of companies have met the new regulation while others will be ready to recruit spare drivers before the deadline. 

"We support authorities' new measures because we care about the safety of passengers," he said, adding that there are over 1,500 large tourist buses in the Kingdom, most of which operate between Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Odeh said operators have started to equip buses with a special small room for the main driver to rest, as the spare driver takes over.

Drowsy long-haul drivers 

A number of passengers told The Jordan Times that some drivers, who are not accompanied by substitutes, use several ways to stay awake while going long distances. 

Omar Dawaimeh said that while he was going for umra two months ago, the driver was drinking "too much" coffee to combat drowsiness on the trip from Amman to Medina Munawara in Saudi Arabia, a distance of around 900km.

"He used to mix lemon with coffee sometimes," Dawaimeh said, noting that the driver was told such a drink is strong enough to keep him awake. 

Spare drivers should be in all long-haul trips to ensure the safety of passengers, said the Amman-based car technician. 

Ahmad Awad, who performed umra a few weeks ago, also stressed the need to provide buses with more than one driver. 

"Sometimes we feel sorry for the driver, who had to drive for a long distance with large cups of coffee always next to him," Awad said. 

But Odeh rejected the claims, noting that trips between Jordan and Madina Munwara or Mecca in Saudi Arabia are not that long to require drivers to use caffeinated or energy drinks. 

"Drivers rest for at least two hours when they arrive at border crossings and rest for days when they reach the destinations," he added.