Phuket Opinion: Amid the many bus and van crashes killing tourists in Phuket, it's time to focus more carefully on responsibility

PHUKET: One of the most startling revelations to arise from the bus crash on Phuket's Chalong-Kata Hill was a policeman telling the Phuket Gazette that there is no provision in law for police to lay charges against a bus owner and/or management company for vehicle malfunctions, such as brake failure.

This is why bus, van and truck drivers who crash in Phuket simply flee the scene whenever they can. Regardless of whether or not the accident was their fault, they will almost surely be blamed.

It seems the authorities have yet to figure out which course of action to take with the October 22 horror crash, which killed one tourist and injured many more. On the surface, it would be all too easy to simply blame the driver and close the file.

[For photos and details of this spectacular crash, see page 3 of the current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.]

Brake failure is easily the most common reason given for accidents on Phuket’s steep roads. Was it that again? If it was, it would be the responsibility of the person(s) in charge of vehicle maintenance, not the driver. Thus the predicament facing the police.

Maintenance is one of the first things to go when management feels compelled to cut costs. The Paddington rail disaster in London in 1999, in which 31 people were killed and more than 520 injured, highlighted the problem. Was management at British Rail charged with “killing to save cash”? No.

Many bus and van crashes in Phuket lead to a long chain of mitigated responsibility, the chain in many instances likely to have been created for that purpose. The hapless Chinese tourists on the bus on October 22 had booked their tours with an agent in China, then on arrival were handed off to a local tour operator who hired a bus from a company which, in turn, had subcontracted an “independent operator” to provide the transport.

Often, though not in this particular case, the further investigators go down the line, the worse it gets, so in the end no one is held accountable – except the driver. This is the person who, of all the people in the long and murky chain of “service” providers – corporate, nominal and human – probably had the least to gain to begin with.

Driver rewards in Thailand may or may not be commensurate with driving skills, but are almost surely out of balance with the risks, particularly in a culture where the concepts of insurance and responsibility remain alien in many quarters.

With anonymous and essentially untraceable ownership and management of so many buses, trucks and vans in Thailand, certainly one of the biggest risks faced by a freelance driver is the condition of the vehicle he is asked to risk so many lives in. Since one of those lives is his own, it is probably safe to assume that not all accidents are the driver’s fault.

Yet the police response is Pavlovian. It is rare indeed to encounter a media report in which the driver of a vehicle of any size is not charged with negligence and/or manslaughter following a fatal accident.

What is equally rare, however, is to hear of a conviction, but that is another matter entirely

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2011/article11326.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-10-30

Is this any surprise to any of us living here in Thailand. Just confirms what we all already know.

People who drive as their profession have one job to do..to get their passengers to their destination safely. My brother drives tour buses and 18 wheel trucks in the states. He has often talked about how much they stress safety. Drivers are very competitive with each other on their safety knowledge and safe driving.

But here the primary concern is how quickly and cheaply the tourists can be delivered. You don't need to drive on the roads here long to learn that minibus drivers have no problems taking huge risks for little or no gain all the time. With effectively no traffic enforcement whatsoever, why not? A few years ago friend of mine paid for a bus drivers carelessness with his leg. Another person I know as killed in a separate accident. I have been on minibuses where the driver kept falling asleep despite pounding M150's. Drivers here are very competitive with each other in how quickly they can deliver their human cargo, regardless the risks or consequences.

Corruption aside, the system is woefully inadequate. Why several Thai's have advised me to flee any accident I am involved in is easy to understand when you look at the law. Under Thai law any driver in an accident involving an injury or death is automatically arrested in order to investigate the accident. This is whether clearly at fault or not. Also, there is no law requiring drivers to stay at the accident scene or exchange information as is the norm in most countries.

I understand that the less strict and relaxed nature of Thailand is what draws many of us foreigners here, but until there are genuine sanctions, licensing, proper investigations and accountability, nothing will change and the "horror crashes" will continue.

Edited October 30, 201114 yr by ScubaBuddha

Wait, the Phuket Gazzet wants, Thais....to "take repsonsibility"?...THAIS?..."TAKE RESPONSIBILITY" ...............:cheesy: I LOVE it, Thais, take responsibility. Well the Gazette, at least its good for a laugh now and then.

I hear so many times about the brakes failed, usually in hilly country, apart from brakes overheating chances of brake failure in any vehicle in the last 50 odd years are very minimal, even in poorly maintained vehicles it is all but impossible for them to fail. Overheating is always down to the driver. When reporting such accidents lets hear the truth, the driver rode his brakes to keep his speed down, they overheated and became of little use.