School Bus Fire Claims Multiple Lives and Injures Young Students in Rangsit

[lordgrinz]

1 minute ago, watthong said:

 

If doing "payback" time owed to Thai Uni could have been done in the US then it would have been lot more beneficial for all concerned. Anyway I guess your wife must have her reason - which doesn't need to go into details here -to do it in Thailand instead.

(The reason I'm "asking for a friend" is because I'm in the same shoe as you in regretting making the move to Thailand, also due to wrong choice career-wise...)

 

It would have been I think somewhere between $350,000-$450,000 payback, or 5 years time working "here" in Thailand for her University, which was a pretty good deal. We decided 5 yrs was pretty short, and worth the savings. But I still think we might have been better to just pay it back and have stayed in the USA.

[lordgrinz]

4 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

It’s harsh to point the finger at the bus driver - yes he should ensure the vehicle is 100% roadworthy & safe etc…

… but, the moment he raises any issue, he’s fired & they pick from one of the many others in line to take his job & remain silent.

 

People from this ‘socio-economic’ strata of the Thai totem pole who are proactive & identify issues (safety issues) are seen as nothing more than trouble makers by the owners….  They’ve learned to just accept their ‘lot’ & shut up.
 

 

 

He is nothing but a scapegoat at this point, protecting the greedy owners "face".

[watthong]

2 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

 

It would have been I think somewhere between $350,000-$450,000 payback, or 5 years time working "here" in Thailand for her University, which was a pretty good deal. We decided 5 yrs was pretty short, and worth the savings. But I still think we might have been better to just pay it back and have stayed in the USA.

 

will PM you later. Don't want to hijack this thread...

[Patong2021]

19 hours ago, ronster said:

Seems to have been engulfed in flames very quickly. Surely a mercedes bus would be designed with fire retardant seats , the video of this looks like the whole thing was quickly ablaze.

Never seen a country with so many bus accidents every month . I refuse to let my wife travel on them .

 

 

Flammability resistance is designed for the vehicle as originally constructed - Diesel fuel. 

As mentioned above, aftermarket conversion to LPG voids  all warranties and safety parameters.

Ask if Thailand has any safety standards for such conversions and you will hear crickets in response.

We should have a scapegoat soon enough and then it will be forgotten much as the Santika Fire tragedy was buried.

[black tabby12345]

3 hours ago, Ombra said:

Can they even identify the remains of their children? How awful!

 

By DNA analysis.

If the family member can bring in items like tooth/hair brush the dead child used while alive.

By comparing the sample from each(burnt body and bodily tissues left on the goods used during their life).

Edited 4 hours ago by black tabby12345

[lordgrinz]

So do we use Thai logic/culture and just accept that this was their "fate"? I know I have been fed this BS before, or do Thai's actually plan to do something about the unsafe drivers, vehicles, and attitudes. 

[thesetat2013]

47 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

It’s harsh to point the finger at the bus driver - yes he should ensure the vehicle is 100% roadworthy & safe etc…

… but, the moment he raises any issue, he’s fired & they pick from one of the many others in line to take his job & remain silent.

 

People from this ‘socio-economic’ strata of the Thai totem pole who are proactive & identify issues (safety issues) are seen as nothing more than trouble makers by the owners….  They’ve learned to just accept their ‘lot’ & shut up.
 

 

well you are correct. Thais tend to fix problems only after they cause injury or death. There is very little maintenance. 

I was not finger pointing. Only stating what wife told me she is seeing in Thai news. She also said, the teachers died valiantly, if they had lived then they would be blamed for not getting the kids out and saving themselves only. 

A harsh way to perceive this but most likely the wife is correct in her comment. 

[Confuscious]

4 hours ago, actonion said:

Why is there never an investigation as to how / why this happened, so as to  maybe prevent it happening again, is it because of costs, / know how, / too lazy to do the paper work...multiple loss of lives swept under the carpet..Again

Remember the accident with the minibus in Pattaya a few years ago where 14 passengers burned out?
A FULL investigation, weeks of talking about new rules, etc.
Nothing has changed at the end.

Remember the accident with the pick-up truck carrying 14 people in the back a few years ago?
A Full investigation, weeks of talking about new rules (reducing the amout of people allowed to sit in the pick-up bed, reducing the amount of people inside a pick-up, etc.)
Nothing has changed at the end.

 

THIS IS THAILAND!!!!!
A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY RULED BY MONEY.

[richard_smith237]

45 minutes ago, Confuscious said:

Remember the accident with the minibus in Pattaya a few years ago where 14 passengers burned out?
A FULL investigation, weeks of talking about new rules, etc.
Nothing has changed at the end.

Remember the accident with the pick-up truck carrying 14 people in the back a few years ago?
A Full investigation, weeks of talking about new rules (reducing the amout of people allowed to sit in the pick-up bed, reducing the amount of people inside a pick-up, etc.)
Nothing has changed at the end.

 

THIS IS THAILAND!!!!!
A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY RULED BY MONEY.

Agreed….   It’s always the same…

lots of noise… there will be announcements & crackdowns… then nothing until another similar incident.

 

Remember the Dr killed crossing the road a few years ago…. They’ve learned painted a few crossings, made a few announcements…, tried using a pedestrian crossing lately ?

Sadly - same same - nothing changes, it’s just too much effort for this in positions of decision making power to effect such a cultural shift in attitudes. 

[lordgrinz]

3 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Agreed….   It’s always the same…

lots of noise… there will be announcements & crackdowns… then nothing until another similar incident.

 

Remember the Dr killed crossing the road a few years ago…. They’ve learned painted a few crossings, made a few announcements…, tried using a pedestrian crossing lately ?

Sadly - same same - nothing changes, it’s just too much effort for this in positions of decision making power to effect such a cultural shift in attitudes. 

 

There are plenty of laws on the books, and hefty fines, the issue is enforcement.....until the RTP is made to do their jobs, nothing will change. 

[richard_smith237]

26 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

 

There are plenty of laws on the books, and hefty fines, the issue is enforcement.....until the RTP is made to do their jobs, nothing will change. 

100% agree….  & that requires a nationwide cultural shift… 

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, Confuscious said:

Nothing has changed at the end.

I saw a pickup carrying a lot of people,  3 days ago, and I realized how rare this sight has become in Bangkok. 

 

37 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

tried using a pedestrian crossing lately ?

Yes, every day. Works very well. Better than in my home-country.

Big change since the doctor died.

And it keeps getting better.

 

These racist undertones are not really helpful.

[brfsa2]

17 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Or the experience of being here on a daily basis and witnessing the very issues ourselves. 

 

You call it bigotry and racism...  we call it observation.

 

When I drive and pull up next to a lorry, a bus, any large vehicle and see the state of the tyres its a very common observation to see what a poor state they are in.

 

It is also common knowledge that tyres here are often left over-inflated - there are numerous reports of forum members having had to 'let air out' of their tyres after a replacement to set them at their correct pressure.

 

 

These observations do no exist in a void and why they are unfair as 'generalisations' when something such as this occurs and caused by a 'tyre blow out' - bringing into suspicion quality of the tyres on the vehicle is an extremely valid point void of any bigotry or racism, and born of nothing more than familiarity with where we are and how so many rules are violated... 

 

Absolutely True. 

 

It's so bad how most cars tires have poor tires.... 

 

I like to pay a lot of attention to details in cars, after all I'm car enthusiast, one thing I always do as a habit is check the tires when I pass by one, just a habit. even in my closed Villa when I take kids out, I would say most of the cars have at least one these symptoms:

- Overly used tires, never rotated, and some tires already can see the threads (my neighbor Isuzu have the threads already out!)

- Under-inflated, some by a lot and they driving it everyday.

- Over inflated, you can tell how the center is so much eaten up, and the corners are not. these are very dangerous and easy to blow up.

- Too old and already having cracks everywhere.

- I once spotted screws deep inside the tire for a neighbor, guided her to not remove and go asap fix it. it's still there today 😄 

 

I once rented a car in Chiang Mai, via those big names in the airport, I got a Toyota corolla with tires at least 8 years old, it was so dry and super slippery. They said it still had a lot of thread left 🤦‍♀️ which was true. Tires would even spin on that 1.5L weak engine, so terrible experience. 

 

Then the next time I book a Mitsubishi expander, they gave me a replacement Toyota Fortuner, the car was great, but the tires were really bad, not as bad as the previous time, but enough to make me nervous. 

 

I like the PSI a bit on the high end, normally I set 36-38PSI (that is 2-4PSI higher) I get better fuel economy and the steering wheel gets a bit lighter, while still being safe.

I change my tires every 4-5 years, regardless of thread level. I go only for Michelin ( I've had Primacy 4, Primacy SUV+, Pilot Sport 4 and 5) also had a really good results with the Continental MC6, used one for almost 5 years, then replaced with Primacy 4, on the HRV. 

TIP to everyone: Stay away from the new continental EV, and Michelin EV tires for EV cars. They are terrible, they sacrifice wet and dry performance for lower rolling resistance, that in reality only saves a few percent of range. They are not worth it, and they are bloody expensive!

[tandor]

6 hours ago, Ombra said:

Can they even identify the remains of their children? How awful!

i daresay reverse DNA to confirm, which is the norm for multiple burn victims.

[steven100]

oh dear Georgealbert,     I still won't comment as it's too upsetting.