Video: Bus passengers flee for their lives as city drivers play dangerous cat and mouse game

 

 

Two drivers - both on bus route #1 in Bangkok - played a dangerous game of cat and mouse on Charoen Krung Road in the early hours of yesterday morning. 

 

A video showed the bus in front frequently veering in front of the one behind as they raced along trying to be the first to get more passengers. 

 

But when they got to the bus stop or a red light that was enough for many of the passengers on one bus. They jumped off and ran away from the perilous driving. 

 

The staff on both buses were later fined 1,000 baht each.

 

The story made Channel 3 TV news. 

 

Source: Channel 3 TV

 

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The car taking the video was certainly keeping up with the 'perilous' buses.

The direction indicator (flasher) on the back bus was going very qickly meaning either the front bulb was blown, or he had fitted the illegal LED lights.

T I T.

6 minutes ago, stouricks said:

The car taking the video was certainly keeping up with the 'perilous' buses.

Maybe wife miss the bus! Really professional driving anyway! Hope get they extra 50 bth from gamble whit passengers life! Idiots!

Whats the incentive here? Does the ticket lady and driver get a % of the fare - I've never had them not give me the little tiny coin size piece of paper in hundreds of bus rides so it all seems accounted

These orange buses are the ones that replaced the green buses a few years back.

I once read an article that said the old green buses were usually driven by newly released convicts as it was one of the few jobs they could get. Looks like times haven't changed going by that vdo.

46 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

The staff on both buses were later fined 1,000 baht each.

Really , nothing is ever going to change till they start taking

incidents like this seriously, they should have been given the

sack  as soon as the bus company became aware of the video,

regards Worgeordie

Ive had a couple of similar bus adventures on the Bang Na Trad Rd. I remain calm up to the point when the Thais start white knuckle gripping the seat in front of them. 

Many years ago I was on the bus that had a race with another bus up Phaholyothin road... with bus 8 trying to stop 502 from passing it, that started because of a honk when that bus would not move for minutes on one of the stops. Both buses ended up scratched on the side once we got parallel to that bus and drivers started trying to push each other off the road at speed...

 

Another one was at Pratunam, bus turning from Petchaburi to Ratchaprarop... squeezing a car that was also turning... the car driver got ahead of the bus, hand extended out of his window, producing a gun, which shot towards the bus full of people twice, before he sped off...

 

And one at Ramkhamhaeng... don't know what happened before but a car came to the side of the bus driver's window, opened window and started yelling something at the driver, ending with KHWAIII BAHHH! This enraged the bus driver, so he raced to catch up with the car until he could push him off the road into the centre divide. As drivers got into a fist fight, passengers calmly left the bus and went off to bus stop nearby. That was around the Rajamangala stadium...

 

Above happened like 15-20 years ago. I thought bus drivers' habits would have improved, but seems some things never change. Maybe 1000 baht fines are not the solution that changes behaviour.

31 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

Many years ago I was on the bus that had a race with another bus up Phaholyothin road... with bus 8 trying to stop 502 from passing it, that started because of a honk when that bus would not move for minutes on one of the stops. Both buses ended up scratched on the side once we got parallel to that bus and drivers started trying to push each other off the road at speed...

 

Another one was at Pratunam, bus turning from Petchaburi to Ratchaprarop... squeezing a car that was also turning... the car driver got ahead of the bus, hand extended out of his window, producing a gun, which shot towards the bus full of people twice, before he sped off...

 

And one at Ramkhamhaeng... don't know what happened before but a car came to the side of the bus driver's window, opened window and started yelling something at the driver, ending with KHWAIII BAHHH! This enraged the bus driver, so he raced to catch up with the car until he could push him off the road into the centre divide. As drivers got into a fist fight, passengers calmly left the bus and went off to bus stop nearby. That was around the Rajamangala stadium...

 

Above happened like 15-20 years ago. I thought bus drivers' habits would have improved, but seems some things never change. Maybe 1000 baht fines are not the solution that changes behaviour.

The number 8 bus drivers are renowned for their atrocious driving.  I was on a number 8 a few months ago where the conductor was knocked to the floor by the weaving in and out, and sudden braking by the driver. As she went head over tea kettle,  spilling coins and tickets, the driver turn around and scolded her.  I now avoid the number 8.   

1 hour ago, worgeordie said:

Really , nothing is ever going to change till they start taking

incidents like this seriously, they should have been given the

sack 

Not only that they should have been fined heavily ( not 1000 baht)

and lost their licence to carry public passengers.

1 hour ago, stouricks said:

The car taking the video was certainly keeping up with the 'perilous' buses.

You mean the whistleblower?

 

1 hour ago, stouricks said:

The direction indicator (flasher) on the back bus was going very qickly meaning either the front bulb was blown, or he had fitted the illegal LED lights.

LED light's are not illegal here but unfortunately nobody bothers to install the load resistor or 'CANBUS canceler' on these cheap imported LED lights so they hyperflash. I agree that it should be illegal and cops should ticket drivers with hyperflashing turn signals. These cheap Chinese LED's have poor illumination as it is and when placed behind a stylish, smoked perspex lens cap, they are almost invisible in daylight... a bit like traffic cops actually.

Perfectly normal start to the day on Bangkok's roads. Can't see what all the fuss is about.

 

2 hours ago, dsf9 said:

Whats the incentive here? Does the ticket lady and driver get a % of the fare - I've never had them not give me the little tiny coin size piece of paper in hundreds of bus rides so it all seems accounted

Yes. The driver and ticket collector both get 10% of the fares collected. That is how they are paid.

3 hours ago, Bobobirdiebuddy said:

The number 8 bus drivers are renowned for their atrocious driving.  I was on a number 8 a few months ago where the conductor was knocked to the floor by the weaving in and out, and sudden braking by the driver. As she went head over tea kettle,  spilling coins and tickets, the driver turn around and scolded her.  I now avoid the number 8.   

Bus number 8 was infact featured on the computer game GTA

I see busses here not just racing but running red lights at high speed, driving without lights and even only having holes in the body where the lights should be.

3 hours ago, jackbox said:

 

Yes. The driver and ticket collector both get 10% of the fares collected. That is how they are paid.

Then the solurtion is simple put all busses and staff on flat pay and take away the need.

I don't understand what this is about. I see buses driving like that every day.

9 hours ago, webfact said:

The staff on both buses were later fined 1,000 baht each.

 

Not sacked then, fined 1,000 baht and back on the next run !!!

Safe trusted Thailand?

 

9 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Not sacked then, fined 1,000 baht and back on the next run !!!

Safe trusted Thailand?

 

In the video it says they will also undergo "training"    maybe they where "untrained" before  but still allowed to be responsible for the life's of many passengers per day ?

11 hours ago, webfact said:

the bus in front frequently veering in front of the one behind as they raced along

Reminded me of "Harry Potter's (K)night Bus" weaving its way through London traffic in the "Prisoner of Azkaban" - fantastic special effects filming!!

 

 

 

just a couple of wannabe route 8 drivers

just another normal day on Thai roads....nothing new to see....

11 hours ago, dsf9 said:

Whats the incentive here? Does the ticket lady and driver get a % of the fare - I've never had them not give me the little tiny coin size piece of paper in hundreds of bus rides so it all seems accounted

The incentive is to get to the bus stop first, to get the passengers waiting there. Which is promoted by the % commissions earned.

10 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Many years ago I was on the bus that had a race with another bus up Phaholyothin road... with bus 8 trying to stop 502 from passing it, that started because of a honk when that bus would not move for minutes on one of the stops. Both buses ended up scratched on the side once we got parallel to that bus and drivers started trying to push each other off the road at speed...

 

Another one was at Pratunam, bus turning from Petchaburi to Ratchaprarop... squeezing a car that was also turning... the car driver got ahead of the bus, hand extended out of his window, producing a gun, which shot towards the bus full of people twice, before he sped off...

 

And one at Ramkhamhaeng... don't know what happened before but a car came to the side of the bus driver's window, opened window and started yelling something at the driver, ending with KHWAIII BAHHH! This enraged the bus driver, so he raced to catch up with the car until he could push him off the road into the centre divide. As drivers got into a fist fight, passengers calmly left the bus and went off to bus stop nearby. That was around the Rajamangala stadium...

 

Above happened like 15-20 years ago. I thought bus drivers' habits would have improved, but seems some things never change. Maybe 1000 baht fines are not the solution that changes behaviour.

I was told that Thais are always soooo calm, and that it is always foreigners who loose face in public because they so easily get upset, which is a nonono in Thailand 

 

????

Edited August 27, 20205 yr by Flying Saucage

12 hours ago, webfact said:

1,000 baht

that's how much life is worth in thailand

7 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

Then the solurtion is simple put all busses and staff on flat pay and take away the need.

Probably so, but these are privately owned buses running routes on a contract with the BMTA, so that will require a renegotiation of all those contracts.

Very common..

My understanding is that there are no laws on the road, only fines for failure to wear a helmet when there are road blocks to check for that. Which is not about laws on the road, but a law about what you wear on your head while driving.

So why in this world were these drivers fined 1,000 bahts??? No helmets required on busses as I know...

On 8/27/2020 at 8:15 AM, worgeordie said:

Really , nothing is ever going to change till they start taking

incidents like this seriously, they should have been given the

sack  as soon as the bus company became aware of the video,

regards Worgeordie

if they sacked all the bad drivers there would be no busses at all.