Field trips don’t hurt students, poorly-maintained transport does : PM

[BKKBike09]

Using high-pressure flammable gas to power any commercial public transport vehicle should be prohibited.

[Rolo89]

I'm sure she'll announce a scheme to up the safety of buses taking children on field trips to solve this issue 🙄

[Kwaibill]

My impression is that preventative maintenance is often a foreign concept here. Witness the plethora of unpainted buildings, e.g. “Brake failure” is often the reason cited for accidents.
I also have my suspicions about the qualification situation of “professional drivers” here. One of my hundreds of jobs was as a licensed school bus driver, which required pretty extensive training to qualify for as well as an exacting road test. Ever try parallel parking a seventy passenger bus?

I haven’t seen enough details about this incident to draw firm conclusions, but I weep for all those babies who won’t return from an exciting field trip.🥲

[Henryford]

The driver did a runner after after the crash. That says it all about their approach to safety.

[tau152]

14 hours ago, Watawattana said:

Well said.  The culture of a country comes from its leadership.  I hope she is able to get this implemented and hold to account those who stop or delay this happening.

 

But, of course, TIT, but maybe this time some change might actually happen?

Exactly!!  Watawattana expressed my thoughts precisely and I hope that the new PM is able to hold those responsible for shabby maintenance of the vehicles!!

[MikeandDow]

10 minutes ago, BKKBike09 said:

Using high-pressure flammable gas to power any commercial public transport vehicle should be prohibited.

And WHY should it be prohibited ?? this type of system is used world wide safely if it is installed in the correct manner 

[Surasak]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

 

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has expressed disagreement with suspending educational field trips for students, saying that the measure does not solve the basic problem.

 

She said that such trips are not harmful to children and blamed poorly-maintained public transport for road accidents, adding that all transport used for educational field trips should be properly checked, especially for long journeys.

 

The prime minister made the comments after the Education Ministry ordered the immediate suspension of all educational field trips by schools under its supervision, except for trips which are deemed necessary, and that the trips should be confined within the schools’ province.

 

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit announced today that all the 13,000 plus public buses which use compressed natural gas (CNG) as fuel must be subjected to thorough checks within 60 days.

 

Photo: Thai PBS World

 

Full story: Thai PBS World

-- 2024-10-02

 

 

If this is implemented correctly and followed thru with on a regular basis, it is only half the problem solved.

Drivers with no full and proper training is the other half of the problem. But, who will train the drivers, and who will train the trainers!?   

[AustinRacing]

Another knee jerk reaction. Another third world country pretending not to be one. At its core lies the common issues. Poor education, poor planning, poor infrastructure, corruption, poor leadership, poor law and order, to name a few. Hard to get used to it, but it is what it is. 

[mran66]

15 hours ago, Watawattana said:

But, of course, TIT, but maybe this time some change might actually happen?

 

Nobody cares after few months once the media storm is over. Life goes on. That's how this kind of stuff works in Thailand, like it or not. 

[phitsanulokjohn]

She said that such trips are not harmful to children and blamed poorly-maintained public transport for road accidents, adding that all transport used for educational field trips should be properly checked, especially for long journeys.

 

 

Should be,but I fear on many occasions isn't.

[Andycoops]

She is absolutely right.

 

The word maintenance does not exist in Thailand because they would rather squeeze the last satang from a vehicle before having to spend anything on it.

[black tabby12345]

Before I get my Retirement O, I used to rely on Tourist Visa(from Thai Embassy in Vientiane, Lao).

Back then, I always travelled by bus.

Sometimes, the driver advised passengers to stay away from the vehicle during the refueling(natural gas) stop; precaution against possible explosion.

Every time I hear that, I grabbed my stuff and dashed out of the cabin immediately.

And watched how it goes from at least 100m away...

Later, a friend of mine(retired  Thai engineer) told me that that it could happen only when the fuel system is ill-fitted.

 

 

 

[Humpy]

Which member of the school staff orders the buses ? The bus that caught fire was 56 years old and converted to compressed gas and was perhaps cheap to rent !!