Street Menace On The Rise

[jbowman1993]

Street menace on the rise

Jessada Tandhasettee

Bangkok Post

Friday, February 3, 2006

If you aren't a Thai national or an expat who hasn't been residing in Thailand for quite a few years, you won't believe what you are about to read.

I, too, am quite hesitant to talk about this unless it's a personal acquaintance because they'll accuse me of lying.

The following is a list of a few hypocritical idiosyncrasies in Thailand.

Vehicles that are imported to Thailand are homologated in order to attain an exhaust level that has hazardous substances that do not exceed international standards.

Meanwhile, public transport buses are spouting out massive loads of black exhaust, while the authorities concerned do nothing whatsoever to tackle the problem.

And the nation's best (traffic police) can always be seen busy writing up tickets for front passenger who do not buckle up, while pickups loaded with human beings are let go scott free.

However, the primary focus of today's read will be about a "new breed" of illegal vehicles that will spread faster than the H5N1 virus itself.

I don't remember when this illegal form of vehicle began running on the streets of Bangkok. However, when I was young, say about 50 years ago, I remember seeing a three-wheeler which ran on pedals. Two wheels up front and one rear-wheel with brakes.

It used to have traditional red livery and we used to call it samlor daeng or the "red three-wheeler". A few decades later the moniker morphed into saleng.

Loads and braking capabilities were suitable as long as the power source of this saleng was provided by pedaling power of two legs.

But some genius thought it would be better if the rear one-wheel was replaced by a motorcycle's. No more energy wasted trying to pedal up slopes and undulations.

It's illegal and extremely dangerous as well. The rear wheel which is where the brakes are installed will have only the weight of the occupant and engine to rely on when decelerating.

Maximum loads will result in weight force of barely 30% of the entire vehicle on the rear despite locking the brakes.

Deceleration will be very low and this is very dangerous. And what's worse is that these illegal vehicles can attain speeds of up to 100kph or even more depending on the tail section's engine model being fused to the vehicle.

Every country has its fair share of amateur inventors who lack proper training and basic foundations in theory and practise. Therefore, the number of treacherous and inferior products being invented for use never stops. But it usually doesn't reach end-users because it is illegal.

These illegal three-wheelers or saleng cannot run on the streets of Thailand, according to rules and regulations of the Department of Land Transport.

As a matter of fact, the first or any saleng should be arrested or apprehended immediately.

It can't be registered for use on the roads. But why is it that there are several factories specialising in the production of illegal saleng products in Thailand?

Traffic police have a tendency to say: "We don't know what to do with these illegal vehicles who don't have a license."

And eventually the government will adopt a lenient approach with these salengs and probably give them a special license to run on the streets because of the sheer number of them.

I am pleading with the powers that be, for a country that is about to become the "Detroit of Asia", let's get rid of this despicable vehicle called the motorised saleng.