Panel formed to find more details of fatal bus accident to bring extra charges against driver and bus operator

By Thai PBS

 

 

Region 3 Provincial Police Bureau commissioner Pol Lt-Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapat has ordered the setting up of a police panel to interview witnesses and injured victims of the fatal road accident involving a double-decker bus to find out more details about the incident which may bring about additional charges against the bus driver.

 

The bus driver, Mr Krisana Chuthachuen, has, so far, been charged with reckless driving causing deaths and injuries to the other people, speeding beyond permissible limit, using drug while driving and not offering help to the injured. He was taken to the Nakhon Ratchasima provincial court last Friday by the police to seek court’s order to detain him for another 12 days pending further questioning of witnesses.

 

Eighteen passengers of a tour group from Kalasin were killed and 30 others injured when the double-decker bus lost control as it was descending downhill on a road in Wang Nam Khiao district in Nakhon Ratchasima due to brake failure as it was taking the passengers back home in Kalasin. The speeding bus jumped over concrete road barrier and slammed into a huge roadside tree.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/panel-formed-find-details-fatal-bus-accident-bring-extra-charges-driver-bus-operator/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-03-27

1 hour ago, webfact said:

"Region 3 Provincial Police Bureau commissioner Pol Lt-Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapat has ordered the setting up of a police panel to interview witnesses and injured victims of the fatal road accident involving a double-decker bus to find out more details about the incident which may bring about additional charges against the bus driver."

 

Now they need to set up a police panel?

All that does is give the impression that a normal police investigation doesn't do a thorough job.

Is this another case of selective law enforcement and justice?

 

Again and again the drivers blame "brake failure".

 

Is this a translation mistake and should be "failure to brake (because of snoozing or sleeping)"?

 

Unfortunately, I have to travel in company mini vans very often and I would say nearly half the drivers fight to stay awake while driving. I like to sit in the "death seat" next to the driver and keep talking to them to keep them awake.

Last week I was talking to a driver who said he slept four hours a night as he had two jobs. He was paid 500 Baht a day for driving and couldn't live off of that. He dozed off whenever we stopped at traffic lights, and on the motorway he often just stared blankly in front.

 

Even on the inter-city buses I have seen drivers fall asleep. One time on the  Pattaya - Bangkok route, I noticed that the bus had slowed right down and was slowly changing lanes. I looked in the mirror and saw the driver's eyes were half closed. I had a few sweets and offered them to him to try and keep him awake.

 

 

Why dont they set up a panel to check the panel theyve set up is doing the job that it shouldnt have to do?

4 minutes ago, petedk said:

Again and again the drivers blame "brake failure".

 

Is this a translation mistake and should be "failure to brake (because of snoozing or sleeping)"?

 

Unfortunately, I have to travel in company mini vans very often and I would say nearly half the drivers fight to stay awake while driving. I like to sit in the "death seat" next to the driver and keep talking to them to keep them awake.

Last week I was talking to a driver who said he slept four hours a night as he had two jobs. He was paid 500 Baht a day for driving and couldn't live off of that. He dozed off whenever we stopped at traffic lights, and on the motorway he often just stared blankly in front.

 

Even on the inter-city buses I have seen drivers fall asleep. One time on the  Pattaya - Bangkok route, I noticed that the bus had slowed right down and was slowly changing lanes. I looked in the mirror and saw the driver's eyes were half closed. I had a few sweets and offered them to him to try and keep him awake.

 

 

I would suggest a slap round the face  first filming him half asleep

Of course, if this Police Panel were to come up with, and ensure enforcement of, some new rules then it would be valuable.

 

How about for a start:-

1. Introduction of controlled (and enforced) driver hours via the use of tachographs, been like that in the UK since year dot.
2. Introduction of random alcohol and drug checks on drivers at major bus terminals.
3. Introduction of a proper annual check and certification of vehicles.

Proper punitive penalties for infringements of course.

 

Of course, it's going to cost money, fairly significant amounts of money.

 

OK, now I have awoken from my dream, nothing will happen.

no doubt the "panel" will go over their "findings" in a hotel on the beach in Phuket.

5 minutes ago, petedk said:

Again and again the drivers blame "brake failure".

 

Is this a translation mistake and should be "failure to brake (because of snoozing or sleeping)"?

 

Unfortunately, I have to travel in company mini vans very often and I would say nearly half the drivers fight to stay awake while driving. I like to sit in the "death seat" next to the driver and keep talking to them to keep them awake.

Last week I was talking to a driver who said he slept four hours a night as he had two jobs. He was paid 500 Baht a day for driving and couldn't live off of that. He dozed off whenever we stopped at traffic lights, and on the motorway he often just stared blankly in front.

 

Even on the inter-city buses I have seen drivers fall asleep. One time on the  Pattaya - Bangkok route, I noticed that the bus had slowed right down and was slowly changing lanes. I looked in the mirror and saw the driver's eyes were half closed. I had a few sweets and offered them to him to try and keep him awake.

 

 

Tell your  next driver I have a vacancy at 666 baht a day inc  free house rice  water electric motorbike wifi working on the land, he'll politely decline, of course he  will be able to sleep for 12  hours here at night and have 2  hours for lunch as thats our terms of employment, why a 2  hour  lunch or longer in MArch April, cuz its  bluddy  hot

this man is the new ''Poster Boy'',for years of policy failure and lack of enforcement..

an ad hoc panel just for this? how about forming a panel to investigate why the police fail miserably at enforcing traffic laws? whatever comes out of that would save thousands of people. but what do i know?

Must be more than a 500 baht fine coming to involve a panel could be as much as 1000 .

These buses (and the mini-vans) are being driven for profit.  Sure the drivers are terrible and a lot of them boozed, drugged and tooled up, but until they start hitting the pockets of the owners of these vehicles, nothing will ever change.

Mandatory safety inspections, random drug and alcohol tests with accompanying bans for the drivers and massive fines for the vehicle owners are what's needed IMO.

'... the double-decker bus lost control ...'

 

The bus didn't lose control; the moron at the wheel did. 

That's ridiculous. The victims are dead whatever fine the driver will get. 

Check the drivers for drugs and shut down the double deckers.

Me & the Mrs have been past that scene twice over the weekend, it is not pretty I can assure you, as for law enforcement, well, all through the roadworks in that area is a mandatory 40 kph limit, no one including me took an awful lot of notice of it, hence my pocket was 300 baht lighter a little further down the road as they pulled over all those they deemed to have exceeded the limit, it started with a notice in felt tip pen on the back of a clipboard that ' you go more 40 kph'  he said 400, I said 200, we met in the middle 

 

Mrs G T had the camera out as we traversed the mountain roadworks so I will post some pics on here somewhere when we get home later in the week as I don't have my oojamaflip watchermacallit with me to plug the card into 

Edited March 27, 20188 yr by Golden Triangle

4 hours ago, saminoz said:

These buses (and the mini-vans) are being driven for profit.  Sure the drivers are terrible and a lot of them boozed, drugged and tooled up, but until they start hitting the pockets of the owners of these vehicles, nothing will ever change.

Mandatory safety inspections, random drug and alcohol tests with accompanying bans for the drivers and massive fines for the vehicle owners are what's needed IMO.

With a full guarantee of more money changing hands?