Two Killed, 54 Injured In Horrific Bus Accident In Prachin Buri

[meatboy]

A very tragic accident indeed. One that will unfortunately be repeated here in Thailand.

All of the ideas that people have put forth here in this post - safety standards, driver training, better buses, better roads, etc are all excellent ideas and have proven to work in other countries. Thailand has many of the same rules and regulations but they are ineffective. In my opinion it boils down to greed. Bus operators want to make as much profit as they can. And they support a whole circle of people. Local politicians, police, inspectors, and this list goes on.

You want safe bus drivers, honest bus operators and a better society? The only way it will happen is to wipe out corruption and turn Thailand into a governmentally regulated society such as Australia, USA, UK that dictates nearly every aspect of Thai society.

Travel safe people - Songkran is a very dangerous time to be on the roads.

after 30yrs.i have just about seen it all,you get to think when it happens and the victims live near you[korat] will anything change maybe in another 30yrs.when transport falls off the roads.

condolances to the ones killed and a speedy recovery to the injured.

[rct99q]

traffic police in thailand are a joke. the only time you see them is on a thursday when they setup a checkpoint to stop motorbikes drivers with no helmet so they can have noney for the weekend

The opposite can be said of Canada where the traffic police pull you over for making an unsafe lane change (your indicator light only blinked 2 times, insufficient warning for other drivers of your indication to change lanes). $75 fine and a 3 point warning. Or the treads on your tires, or your bumper does not have end caps, or how about your tires encroaching into a pedestrian crosswalk - fine $167, driving without due car $367, how about slower vehicle MUST keep to the right hand lane $109 fine, or slow moving in the wrong lane $109 fine.......

They are not a joke, they are doing the job they have been mandated to do. Right or wrong.....you want sanitized conditions......be prepared!

[balo]

How often do the bus companies give full service to their buses ?

Brakes must have been in poor condition for a long time for an accident like this to happen.

They just dont care?

[seajae]

unfortunately everything im Thailand is done on the cheap, no one wants to spend the money to do it properly so they buy the cheapest possible items to do it, That is why everything is so cheap here, if they did everything the right way it would be a lot more expensive to live. They still need to find a good medium where they DO safety checks and USE god quality parts in public transport/buses. The amount of idiot drivers on the road doesnt help either, buses and trucks think they are racing everybody else and continually cut off everyone else, until these buffoons are taught to drive properly or at least habe speed governors installed this will continue to happen. Actually having police that will do the job they are paid for would help a lot to, they just sit around doing nothing and the cars/utes they drive are heaps of sh*t, Some good patrol cars and dedicated officers would raise a lot of capitol for the government but nobody gives a sh*t how many die as long as they are making money without having to do too much, bloody pathetic attitude these people have.

[mok199]

again...again.....my rant on buses will not stop...yes this is why we need to enforce bus saftey but is more than that thses drivers and companies need to learn to respect people they carry and the people who are affected by thier lazy attitudes....this is about respect...1.bus maintanance.2.speed( on main raods and small soi's) 3.noise (excessive RPM) 4.axcess to small soi's should be prohibited..excessive ideling....thisis about respecting people around you and know buses litterally affect buisnesses and homes and neibourhoods....the bus traffic..needs to be adressed...

[Locationthailand]

What disgusting comments about a man who was doing his job - driver you bloody clown. - example of reckless & careless driving or an under rested and sleepy driver. - Good riddance to the driver - he already got what was comming .. - and all this without even an inquiry? Air breaks do fail! Some of you people must be physic to have as much insider information as you do, the physic part can be put down to many disorders but, the comments about a DEAD PERSON (and without an investigation) must be put down to sheer ignorance!!

Thanks for the communal spanking Brian.

Yes, some comments may seem a bit crude and unjustified, but let's take a look at this situation. IF the bus shown in this thread is indeed the one involved in this tragic incident, then it is at least 30 years old and typical of the older local route and inter-provincial buses of that era.

I can understand the anger of forum members when they read yet another story of how a single man driving a large cumbersome vehicle at excessive speed can kill and injure his passengers and other road users.

Take a look at these pictures.

bus 1.jpgbus 2.jpgbus3.jpg

Do these vehicles look like they belong to a responsible, professional bus company in the business of safely carrying 50 people from A to B? OR do they look like something out of a Vin Diesel thrill ride movie.

Notice the clear unobstructed view of the road, the mass of lights and speakers etc. These are not the vehicles of professional trained drivers but the fantasy rides of young men who enjoy surfing the highway, usually in the outside lane at full speed with the disco pumping behind them. Temporary Kings of The Road. "Get outta my way, I'm comin' through"

The usual "brake failure" excuse is always trotted out or maybe for a change a "tire blew out", when in reality, poor maintenance and poor driver training plus no discipline re hours worked, is usually at the heart of the problem.

The police and highway patrols will always let these vehicles run on the highways as long as the companies pay the police to turn a blind eye.

I fully agree but, that is the fault of the bus operator not, the fault of the driver who is paid a pittance to drive the bloody thing!

How can a driver speeding not be at fault irrespective of what he is being paid? But your comment is not clear - bus operator and driver not differentiated, you mean bus owner?

[DekDaeng]

Why don't we start a petition to get the government to notice? Look at the resources this sort of stuff ties up - perhaps if we can mount a campaign on the government they can see that improving safety costs a little for the road user but saves the government much more, they can use the savings to improve roads etc. what do you think?

Not so difficult at change.org - had its first Thai success last year when an Isaan mum posted a petition asking that bus companies not show such gruesome / sexual / etc etc videos on the buses. Got results in abt 10 days if I recall.

[DekDaeng]

Why is it always the brakes fail when the driver is speeding. Same story different bus.

Could be same story, same bus. Many buses on the road are rebuilt after previous accidents - many have a nice coat of paint on the outside, but roof is unpainted since first crash!

Be good if they could spend as much on safety & maintenance as some do on lights & 'lipstick'.

[monty]

this horrific accident was most probably caused by using generic parts on critical components and back yard mechanics. looking at the picture of the bus it may be over 10 years old. which logically says that the school hired the cheapest bus they could find. the strange thing is brakes need pressure to release the brake shoes from the brake drum. if the brakes failed it may be that they diverted the air pressure from the emergency brake valve which comes into operation if the air pressure is too low. to blame the bus driver for this is wrong at this stage. to say that he was under the influence without an autopsy is also wrong.

You'd be amazed how many of those old buses are still equipped with hydraulic, vacuum assisted brakes instead of proper air brakes.

Something breaks on a hydraulic system and you'll likely only find out after pushing the brake pedal with zero result!

[harleyd61]

R I P

this will go on and on and on.....

[oops]

R.I.P 4 Children.

When we are put in charge of children we are supposed to do our best to over see them so I am truly sorry to see and hear about a child who lost their life

because we as adults aren't doing our job properly.

We hear about the malfunction of faulty brakes all the time here in Thailand, especially when fatal accidents are reported as if this is a no fault claim ( Meaning no one can be charged ).

However, it was adults who engineered the braking system for our safety. IT was the manufactures who made them, It was the Auto industry that approved them.

It was the mechanic that installed them, over and over again. It was the owner of the company who approved the brand of the replacement brakes, and it is the bus

driver who is supposed to let his management know that there is a problem with the brakes. Equally it is important for the management to enforce a strict inspection of all vehicles.

It is again the mechanics who check on them to make sure they are properly installed. It is managements responsibility to make sure they employee qualified mechanics

It is the Transportation companies obligation to make sure these mechanical issues are dealt with the proper way. It is the Transportation Authorities responsibility

to follow up on companies that have reoccurring and multiple accidents along with the police. It is our government that is to push and enforce laws with strict guild lines in mass

transportation issues especially for our kids. Equally important when major part of their countries income is drawn from tourism, if the tourist keep dieing then how do they expect to draw

tourist with money that want to go where they can have a good time and be safe?

The bottom line aren't all these people adults..just to say a breaks where faulty doesn't mean " NEVER MIND". Someone has to be charge. However, if we keep charging the bus drivers and

companies get off Scott free then this will keep happening. Imagine if the owner of the company was held liable for these accidents? Imagine what that would change? It would change the

whole faulty brake concept as well as faulty bus drivers.

Having sad that, there is another problem that only exacerbates this problem. Ever notice those police escorts driving the buses in the fast lane as fast as they can go. Bus drivers have

decided that they are more important that you and they drive like they are on a race track without any concern for your safety. When the police exscort buses it should be in the slow lane and at a pace that is safe.

I myself have been on those invincible buses that do 12oKLM down a small so and up to 240 on an open express way.....and yes they sway from one side to the other while they are dodging in and out of other vehicles.

I am sorry to write such lengthy post in view of this terrible accident and needless death.

I don't know if they will come through but I posted some pictures of another bus in Jomtien that also lost it brakes and in this case no one was hurt. The secound picture is

transportation for students up country. But then I think we all have seen this. I tried to find a third pick which shows a large bus in the ditch that killed one and injured others

it wasn't in the news most likely because it was one of those blue and white ones that goes all over Thailand.