Public Bus Accidents in Thailand Surge by 46.5%

[webfact]

File photo

 

Thailand's National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) has revealed a sharp 46.5% increase in accidents involving public buses in 2023.

 

Buses accounted for the highest proportion of these incidents, with 73.0% of cases, driven by driver errors and poorly maintained, ageing vehicles. Additionally, unsafe vehicle modifications have exacerbated the risk.

 

Public transport remains essential, particularly in Bangkok and its surrounding provinces, where over 968 million trips were recorded in 2022.

 

However, a troubling rise in fatalities and injuries was reported, with casualties from public bus accidents increasing by more than 105% compared to 2022.

 

Key factors contributing to these accidents include unsafe driving practices, such as speeding, tailgating, and fatigued driving.

An alarming 81.1% of incidents were attributed to driver behaviour, compounded by poor working conditions. Drivers often endure emotional stress and inadequate rest, further affecting their performance.

 

Vehicle safety is another critical issue. Many public buses are ageing and poorly maintained due to high operational costs, making necessary upgrades financially unfeasible.

 

Picture courtesy: Thai Rath

 

Furthermore, substandard modifications, such as improperly installed compressed natural gas (CNG) systems, pose significant hazards.

 

A 2023 inspection in Thailand found that over half of the buses fitted with CNG tanks failed to meet safety standards.

 

A tragic example occurred on 1 October 2024, when a school excursion bus caught fire on Vibhavadi Road in Bangkok, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries.

 

Investigators discovered the bus had 11 CNG tanks installed, far exceeding the safety limit of six, with five tanks not registered. This incident highlights the persistent lack of adherence to safety regulations.

 

Despite repeated assurances from authorities to prevent future tragedies, the lack of enforcement and accountability continues to result in loss and injury.

 

Sustainable solutions require stricter laws and a stronger commitment from transport operators to prioritise passenger safety over profit, reported Thai Rath.

 

Picture courtesy: Thai Rath

 

 

-- 2024-11-26

 

 

 

[lordgrinz]

Daily police patrol enforcement of driving laws and behaviors, start writing tons of tickets, start towing illegally parked cars, tow away vehicles that are uninsured/unregistered/unroadworthy, arrest and tow anyone driving without a license. Fixing the problem is easy, all they have to do is get the lazy RTP mafia to go out and do their jobs. The longer the lawlessness goes on the worse things will get, and Thailand is one of the worst in the world for road safety. The WHO has already commented on it, and the lack of follow through by the Thai government is well known.

 

https://www.who.int/thailand/activities/ccs-roadsafety

[Artisi]

Yeah, yeah, yeah - mai bpen rai. 

 

It's blatently obvious what / where the problem is, will it change - certainly not in the near future as there is no incentive to correct all the basic problems as everyone is too busy promoting high-speed trains, submarines and other hair-brain schemes. 

[proton]

Overcrowding is one thing I hate about buses, sometimes I just wont get on one. Mrs did once when I refused. She said it got so packed she could not get one of her feet on the floor.

[Gottfrid]

Hereby a car, bus, truck or motorbike driven by a Thai is now renamed to rolling coffin.

[ikke1959]

This is Thailand... no enforcement  of laws, no educated drivers, poor maintained vehicles,  Vehicles that are too old already, but with new paint look new, as no investments but greed of profit...lack of responsibility, too much hurry and night fatigue, and bad luminated roads.... and than wondering why accidents surge..

[Anant72]

2 hours ago, Artisi said:

Yeah, yeah, yeah - mai bpen rai. 

 

It's blatently obvious what / where the problem is, will it change - certainly not in the near future as there is no incentive to correct all the basic problems as everyone is too busy promoting high-speed trains, submarines and other hair-brain schemes. 
 

High speed trains in Thailand, whenever they materialize, will probably not be immune to accidents on and off tracks. 
 

 

2 hours ago, proton said:

Overcrowding is one thing I hate about buses, sometimes I just wont get on one. Mrs did once when I refused. She said it got so packed she could not get one of her feet on the floor.

 

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Buses accounted for the highest proportion of these incidents, with 73.0% of cases, driven by driver errors and poorly maintained, ageing vehicles. Additionally, unsafe vehicle modifications have exacerbated the risk.

Some heads need to roll and get this travesty in order.

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Hereby a car, bus, truck or motorbike driven by a Thai is now renamed to rolling coffin.

Every day on Thai roads, it will never change.

[LespaulAN]

I have been driving here for 6 months now. Buses are big bullies and drive like they own the road. These supposedly "slower moving vehicle" are the king of the road, along with the usual Fortuners type speedster, oblivious food cart and suicidal motorcyclist. 

[lordgrinz]

39 minutes ago, LespaulAN said:

I have been driving here for 6 months now. Buses are big bullies and drive like they own the road. These supposedly "slower moving vehicle" are the king of the road, along with the usual Fortuners type speedster, oblivious food cart and suicidal motorcyclist. 

 

I am pretty confident in saying the reason people buy Fortuna's and Everest's is because they want to fly over speed bumps at Mach1.

[newbee2022]

Well, somebody should check the brakes

(or the drivers: Crystal meth or Cannabis or Alcohol or all together)

[Asquith Production]

24 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

 

I am pretty confident in saying the reason people buy Fortuna's and Everest's is because they want to fly over speed bumps at Mach1.

Some, like my wife want a large vehicle for accident protection. 

[spidermike007]

Obviously the issues go far beyond simple law enforcement. However it does create a deterrent. 

 

Are they patrolling the highways to find reckless drivers? No. Why? Because they do not care one iota about traffic safety. It is all lip service. The level of pretense, the level of fake purity, the dumb and mindless application of laws here is beyond inane. The RTP are a blight on the nation. 

 

[thesetat2013]

Road safety is one of the reasons i bought the biggest chevy truck available. At least i can drive and feel a little more secure in knowing if there is an accident. They have to plow through a lot of metal to get to me or my family. Even someone in a Fortuner will shy away from me knowing my car will destroy theirs in an accident. 

But the buses, they do not care how they drive. They do what they want. Change lanes how they want. Stop in the middle of the road if they want. I have seen some crazy ways the buses drive.. Hard to believe they ever had training to do the job. 

[CygnusX1]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand's National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) has revealed a sharp 46.5% increase in accidents involving public buses in 2023.

A percentage increase such as this means very little if the absolute number of accidents isn’t specified. For instance, if the increase was from 500 to 730, it’s alarming, but if the increase was from a very low base of 10 to 15, it could just be statistical variation. The 105% increase in casualties might well have been the result of a single tragic accident.

[JonnyF]

They drive like complete Psychopaths. If you dare overtake them as they drift aimlessly around the road they will tailgate you aggressively until their next stop (often stopping in the middle lane even though the left lane is empty).

[dinsdale]

50 minutes ago, CygnusX1 said:

A percentage increase such as this means very little if the absolute number of accidents isn’t specified. For instance, if the increase was from 500 to 730, it’s alarming, but if the increase was from a very low base of 10 to 15, it could just be statistical variation. The 105% increase in casualties might well have been the result of a single tragic accident.

Yep. When % only is used you can pretty much guarantee it's sensationalisation because the actual numbers aren't that big and here there are no actual figures mentioned. 

Edited 8 hours ago by dinsdale

[Tarteso]

Never trust Thai drivers or their cars. The proof is that I am alive after 15 years living here,

[mran66]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Some heads need to roll and get this travesty in order.

 

Sure. However the reality is that travesty remains and heads won't roll. TIT. 

[thailand49]

What do they actual do Social Development!🤣

[metisdead]

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[kwilco]

Again full of those who think they have the solution - usually based on stereotyping Thai people or single issues - the problem is way more complex than they e=seem to comprehend.

 

Someone even misquoted the WHO

 

According to WHO road deaths of drivers and passengers on buses form 1% of the total - in 2018. Since then there may have ben a change but the perception is far from reality. - WHO - GLOBAL STATUS REPORT ON ROAD SAFETY 2018, p263. - however this was a precovid figure - but an increase of 465 doesn't necessarily indicate an increase in overall percent and it doesn't say from when - i.e. in post covid the first few years overall traffic was down considerably.

 

We are now in the first complete years since Covid and the traffic stats are still not clear.

However bus crashes normally get a lot of press as an individual incident can be a major tragedy involving multiple loss of life.There obviously are shortcomings in the bus and coach transport industry - pointed this out 10 years ago or so....but the increase isn't explained fully by a situation that hasn't changed for years.

THe problems arise because like most of the posters on this thread, the authorities do not understand the basics of road safety, preferring knee-jeerk reactions to individual events.

To really make a difference, it's not a matter of "making the police do their job" - it requires serious reform of all those involved in all aspects of road safety in Thailand, which may even require constitutional reform as it involves a radical change in how the police and courrts operate as well as the operation of government departments like the DLT.

Edited 5 hours ago by kwilco

[black tabby12345]

7 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

This is Thailand... no enforcement  of laws, no educated drivers, poor maintained vehicles,  Vehicles that are too old already, but with new paint look new, as no investments but greed of profit...lack of responsibility, too much hurry and night fatigue, and bad luminated roads.... and than wondering why accidents surge..

 

No traffic cops in the streets.

Reckless drivers/riders.

Ill maintained autos.

Road Death Triangle.

 

Edited 5 hours ago by black tabby12345

[Derek B]

7 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

 and bad luminated roads.... 

Second that.

Often wonder why they do not use more "cats eyes" on all the roads.

 

 

[black tabby12345]

substandard modifications, such as improperly installed compressed natural gas (CNG) systems, pose significant hazards.

 

A 2023 inspection in Thailand found that over half of the buses fitted with CNG tanks failed to meet safety standards.

---------------------------------------------------------------

NGV push for 'Environmental Concern'.

Turning Thai buses into Time Bomb on the road...

 

[thaichiro]

With the top driver training and outstanding maintenance service in Thailand, it hard to believe these figures. More fake news!

[willip]

Just check for yabba! 

[AustinRacing]

It’s a third world country. Stop the bashing. 

[Srikcir]

14 hours ago, webfact said:

However, a troubling rise in fatalities and injuries was reported, with casualties from public bus accidents increasing by more than 105% compared to 2022.

This statistic is vague as it seems to imply public bus traffic accidents.

"Investigation of accident scenarios between pedestrians and city buses in Thailand," December 2015 published in the International Journal of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering:

• An accident between pedestrians and city buses is one cause of severe casualties in Thailand.
• it was discovered that pedestrian injuries were more severe at impact speeds of approximately at 20 to 50 km/h. However, the 90th percentile impact speed was not over 30 km/h.