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Lucky girl. Maybe she had her seatbelt on.

How could I even if I wanted to?

Apple has decreed that it's impossible!

why is a monk in possession of such luxury items, they seem to be missing the point here by a huge margin

That's because they are not aiming at the point.

You might as well ask why all the Admirals and Generals in the Inner circle are so unusually rich. Lots of people, including monks, have wealth well above their apparent ability to amass it. At least a religious figure is likely to have come by his wealth by people voluntarily giving money - for whatever reason, rather than by stealing it from the public coffers.

"That's because they are not aiming at the point."

That's it in a nutshell!

If they aimed at the point there would be embarrassment all around and they can't have that.

Also important is that there will be many more players in this scandal than we can know. And some of them would be extremely embarrassed at being found out.

The jobs of the investigators will be at risk if they get too close.

"Director-General of the Department of Land Transport Sanit Promwong revealed that his department has hired the Institute of Transportation of Chulalongkorn University to conduct safety studies on vans used as buses, taking into consideration factors such as the structural integrity of the vehicles, readiness of safety equipment, fuel installation systems and the nature of services. The study is expected to be completed by September this year."

The vans are designed and built by reputable companies. No real need to study them in that way.

What is the real and urgent need is to study ways to fix the mentality of the idiots behind the wheel.

Also at fault are the owners - on the rare occasions that I use them I usually find the seat belts are tied securely away so that they are totally unusable.

There was a rosewood tree in the local school grounds. It disappeared 1 night, apparently worth more than a million Baht. The school is about 100 metres from a roadside police station. Amazing that they managed to cut down the tree and haul it off without the police hearing anything.

Thanks for that incredible story. Incredible not so much about how it was done, but the fact that anyone would come up with the idea of stealing the thing.

I guess it's not really so incredible, people all over the world have taken to stealing all sorts of things, for example copper wiring and piping - from public utilities, power grids etc.

Ho hum.

It's just a common "reffo bag" - buy 'em for a coupla bucks in the Reject shop. (here in Aus).

Why the fuss?

Reffo? - refugee.

We needs photos to judge by.

I demand a re-enactment . . .

The man is obviously a nutter, but a street smart one.

Can anyone amass all that legaly? I doubt it.

Will someone try to steal it from him? YES.

"A female driver got out of her car naked and started grinding up on the vehicle in the middle of the crowded Lat Phrao Wang Hin Road after colliding head-on with a taxi."

"grinding" 5555555

Why doesn't somebody point out to the police that there are plenty of places to go if they want to arrest people in the nude, any night of the week.

Oh? They know already? But those people are Thai, and poor, so it's a pointless exercise . . .

Japanese tourists however, wow, lotsa money . . .

The approach of cracking down on vendors is just another iteration of "shooting the messenger" - a Thai speciality so as to be seen to be doing something - get the low hanging fruit - it's easier.

And in the Thai case, as others have noted, the big players are the annonymous suppliers with upper level connections. Don't go after them, too hard. Besides, that would be cutting off the brown envelope supply.

Brought to you by the leftist PC BBC.

A welcome relief from the rightist Murdoch press.

The brakes were made in China

Ja okay the brakes were made in China and the driver was made in Thailand.

If the brakes are hydraulis it has a dual master cylinder so when one part of the brake system does not woork the other halve does work and still stops the vehicle, except that in Thailand 99% of drivers are tailgaters which doesn't leave any room just in case.

If the brakes are Airbrakes on the dashboard there is an instrument showing the driver the condition of the Air system and when it falls below normal an alarm is automatically activated warning the driver his brake system is below normal so he can move over to the side of the road and park the vehicle.

LOL in LOS!@#$.

Do larger vehicles such as 10 wheelers and larger have air brakes in Thailand? If they do, air brakes are designed to "dynamite" if they lose pressure. They are heavy spring loaded to be "on" all of the time and the air pressure releases them so that the vehicle can move. A truck that is shut off with its air pressure bled off Can. Not. Be. Moved. Brake failure usually causes a big truck to stop immediately.

Of course they still need maintenance, replacing, adjusting...

Lots of nice ideas about brakes on trucks, but this is Thailand we are talking about. The problem is - even with the best braking system in the world, it needs two requirements to operate correctly.

1. Correct maintenance - unlikely in Thailand - here it's "fit and forget", and

2. The system needs to be activated by a driver - pressing the pedal.

Pretty clearly in this case (in particular, plenty of others have been reported) requirement #2 was not met.

What moron goes to Thailand without travel insurance?

I used to pay about US$60 for a single trip

I think they should be locked up after their treatment till the family or someone else pays.

Thats what would happen if they didnt pay their hotel bill, whats the difference?

While I agree with your sentiment re morons, may I suggest you need to update your estimates of cost.

In January/Feb this year I tripped to Thailand for six weeks and paid $750 (AUS) for my mid range travel insurance (a bit less than my return air ticket then but more than a low season ticket - therefore a significant expense for a pensioner).

And you'd better come up with some ideas about the cost of your suggested lock-up - is it discounted on account of being in a gaol, or fully funded, and by whom?

The area is a can of worms, but needing attention, sure. The Thai response will be interesting.

Good idea but what about the 60,000 government and local officials now still owe the loan fund. - when are they going to have their salary stopped ?

Just like in Aus. Perfectly reasonable for 60,000 to still owe the fund - it takes many years to pay off these loans. Gotta live in the meantime.

Seems logical. And a good idea.

But those at the trough pocketing the ad revenue aren't gonna like this...

Spot on.

Convenience for users is not high on the list in Thailand.

How about some hooks for clothes, bags etc in public toilets while they're at it.

Still waiting.

For the re-enactment . . .

Tell me..keep reading about this over the years..does it actually work!? Not convinced but I'm sure someone knows better than me..serious question.!

It never worked in any other country, that's why no other country wastes their time with it these days.

But in Thailand they still say success follows. How curious . . .

Only in Thailand.

Re-enactment please.

Re-enact the rape. Hmmm. Seems a little over the top, even in the land of re-enactments.

The police chief personally asking the questions. Hmmm. How come he has the time to do the job of his staff? Maybe the re-enactment will help him with his sex life at home?

Only in Thailand!!

It was a REALITY lesson.

Items on the students checklist:

1. Bus cannot proceed without all occupants wearing seatbelts (including the driver).

2. Ask the driver to slow down if necessary.

3. First aid training required for tour guides.

Am I being unrealistic? Think so . . .

Strictly - that's a word which I don't associate with Thailand when is refers to regulations. Which of course is one of the reasons why farangs (including myself) like it here. But I would like it to be applied when it comes to aircraft safety. Lets hope they can do it.

Correction. There are certain regulations which are stricly applied - LM for example, but otherwise, nup.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said he hopes fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will not speak anything in public which will hurts his own home country “because he is a Thai and must love the country”.

Perhaps Mr Wongsuwan might ponder reality for a moment. "because he is Thai and must love the country" - blind faith and the denial of faults is not good for a person, a community or a country, in the long run.

That's why the country which must be loved is currently under military rule with restrictions on freedom of speech (additional restrictions that is) - blind faith and denial of faults came to this.

On the plus side, most of the trucks in the LOS stick to 80 KPH and the slow lane, unlike in Canada, where they go 110 in the fast lane..

I've always said that Thailand has a chance to climb out of the "most dangerous roadways in the world" hole..

"unlike in Canada, where they go 110 in the fast lane."

Same as Australia, freakin'scary!!

Just about the crappiest motor cycle one can imagine.

Build quality wise it's terrible.