Five Killed, 49 Injured When Bus Falls Into Ravine In Phitsanulok

[scotbeve]

I hope this is NO 1th of April joke. But accidents have many causes here;

- bad drivers, no driving skills

- drunk or using other stuff

- animals

- bad roads

- weather

- wrong signs

- bad maintenance

- perhaps a wasp in the cabin, who knows

It seems to be impossible to fight this all. Be careful, that's what I think.

Perhaps but more logically this is so damned easy to fix.

1. Govern the motors, (electronically)

2. Introduce log books for drivers - 12 hours at the wheel maximum being 5 + 5 + 2 with half hour breaks in between and 12 hours out of the vehicle completely

3. Speed over distance (average speed) to see if the governing has been interfered with (use of tachographs is common in the west)

4. Passenger service vehicles should be road tested every 90 days and certified roadworthy

5. Maintenance logs mandatory by operators/owners, submitted with vehicle testing

6. Driver education

7. Driver selection based on experience, age and prior clean record

8. Driver medical assessment prior to contracted

9. Urine tests weekly (this one would be easy but a lot of protests to be sure)

You can blame the roads all you like - speed and driver inability mixed with mechanically faulty buses - a recipe for road carnage.

I just looked at your list and I believe you would find all these things are already being done by this company which is the only bus company I would ever go on in Thailand because when you have two drivers on board there is much less chance of an accident through driver fatigue.

http://www.nca.co.th/index.php

Yes Nakhon Chai Air is the only bus company that my wife would consider on the odd occasions that she uses a bus to visit Khon Kaen. Two drivers, and an isolated drivers compartment to minimise distractions. I am told that the First Class is excellent, like sitting in business class on an aircraft.

I honestly wish there were more companies that value the lives of their customers and crew like this, and do things properly.

I also see a lot of talk about it being too expensive to make the changes and enforce safety requirements for bus companies in the Kingdom - so how does NCA seem to be able to offer an excellent service and safe busses with two drivers?

If these guys can do it, then its damned well time the government forced the rest to fix their woeful safety records!

Greer,

From what I understand, NCA pays their personnel well/have good benefits and on the other side of the coin, if there's any complaints they are somehow banned - maybe the owner is well connected(?)...

[FarangTalk]

This will continue as long as thailand has no highway police that give a crap. The police are too worried as to where they will find a shade tree to be under to set up a helmet check

thailand needs real police that know the law and is willing to enforce them.

every day i see thai drivers go through red traffic lights and pass cars on the left side that is a left turn only lane

I have been to many countries and thailand by far has the worst drivers

Thai Police are just a product of Thai culture and society.

[cup-O-coffee]

As I have said many times, until hey go after the owner of the company for hiring idiots, Then they will keep employing them.

We are the adults and when the life of a child is taken it is truly a sad thing.

I believe no one is innocent in this matter, and that includes the owners, the leasing companies who lend out their buses to the owners, the drivers, the mechanics, the passengers and all else. It's their country, remember?

The owners do not seem to care about the others on my list.

The leasing companies as well.

The drivers and mechanics as well.

And the passengers who continually patronize these people when things are not as they should be.

It happens because they all (all) let it happen.

The reasons are purely speculative and opinionated since no one keeps statistics, and if anyone did, then no one could trust them anyhow since they brag all the time about how acceptable it is to flat out lie.

It's the only transport that many people, including some farang can afford.

How else can they travel?

Especially at high seasons when the fares rise.

A family wanting to visit other family members when they only have a motorcy have very few options.

Agreed. This should be a top priority with them, as a determined group united as one, and their elected officials.

[masuk]

I drove home after midnight last night, as my buddy had been drinking, and I was the 'duty driver'.

Amazed how many overtook me on the small country highway, totally ignoring solid yellow lines, and on the crest of a b...y hill on more than two occasions.

It's almost as if drivers are totally unaware of the basics of safe driving.

Earlier in the day, in the city; lights go orange, so I stop as they just turned to red, and the cars on my left continued to pour thru, until they had no choice to stop.

[Locationthailand]

I hope this is NO 1th of April joke. But accidents have many causes here;

- bad drivers, no driving skills

- drunk or using other stuff

- animals

- bad roads

- weather

- wrong signs

- bad maintenance

- perhaps a wasp in the cabin, who knows

It seems to be impossible to fight this all. Be careful, that's what I think.

Perhaps but more logically this is so damned easy to fix.

1. Govern the motors, (electronically)

2. Introduce log books for drivers - 12 hours at the wheel maximum being 5 + 5 + 2 with half hour breaks in between and 12 hours out of the vehicle completely

3. Speed over distance (average speed) to see if the governing has been interfered with (use of tachographs is common in the west)

4. Passenger service vehicles should be road tested every 90 days and certified roadworthy

5. Maintenance logs mandatory by operators/owners, submitted with vehicle testing

6. Driver education

7. Driver selection based on experience, age and prior clean record

8. Driver medical assessment prior to contracted

9. Urine tests weekly (this one would be easy but a lot of protests to be sure)

You can blame the roads all you like - speed and driver inability mixed with mechanically faulty buses - a recipe for road carnage.

I just looked at your list and I believe you would find all these things are already being done by this company which is the only bus company I would ever go on in Thailand because when you have two drivers on board there is much less chance of an accident through driver fatigue.

http://www.nca.co.th/index.php

Thx for the link - but all the time tables etc are only Thai. I have also been on dual driver coaches before here but it does not help when they ride the maximum revs in speed and run disastrously loud music all the way.

[biplanebluey]

Just saw the news on TV3. [/size]

It was reported that passengers informed the driver that the brakes appear not to work properly - the driver choose not to look into the matter and kept on driving.[/size]

[/quo

How do passengers come to the conclusion that it's the brakes that"appear not to work p[roperly"????????????????????

[ableguy]

Will this ever stop?

And please: spare me the "it happens everywhere"- bs!

In 40 years back home, I haven't read about as many fatal bus- accidents as I have here in the last 3 months.

It IS about how a country enforces laws, how it values education and safety etc.

RIP the victims

Will this ever stop?

And please: spare me the "it happens everywhere"- bs!

In 40 years back home, I haven't read about as many fatal bus- accidents as I have here in the last 3 months.

It IS about how a country enforces laws, how it values education and safety etc.

RIP the victims

Only a couple of weeks back I read a report in BKK post about public transport, most deaths are caused in the public mini vans ( just read the papers ) second most deadly tour buses. I have seen so many accidents in these two forms of transport I have lost count, the safest form of travel was taxis.

[Jimjim]

RT @191Thailand: KomChadLuek reporting a 7-y-o boy among the 5 dead in the bus crash in Phitsanulok. They say 2 males & 3 females. All Thai.

What's the difference whether they are Thai or another nation? They are people that came to a tragic end.

It merely adds detail to the story. As such, it's relevant. Should they not say ages, names and sexes too?

Yes, it's tragic no matter what nationality they were, but as it's English language news, some will be curious if any tourists as well as locals died. Many reading will be expats or tourists, themselves. It's just a detail. No reason to get upset about it.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just saw the news on TV3. [/size]

It was reported that passengers informed the driver that the brakes appear not to work properly - the driver choose not to look into the matter and kept on driving.[/size]

[/quo

How do passengers come to the conclusion that it's the brakes that"appear not to work p[roperly"????????????????????

The news reports said passengers prior to the crash complained of smelling a burning smell.

I believe the suggestion was that that might have been the bus' brake pads. But I suppose it could also have been tires or any number of various other items on the bus.

[BKS22]

Hmmm...geee and at 2:00am no less!

Wish I could say I am surprised......disgusted and saddened? Yes! But hardly surprised. I've been saying for years how damn dangerous these over night bus trips are. And here is another sad example where lives were lost because of simple incompetence & negligence I'm sure.

R.I.P. to those who lost their lives.

Yes, I think most of these crashes are caused by driver fatigue and falling asleep. Bus companies should be more aware of this problem and have in place the necessary instructions or warnings for their drivers to make sure they have adequate sleep. Do they know what a power-nap is?

No sadly they don't. And even when many of the bus companies provide a 2nd onboard driver with a small sleeper room in the back, it's not enough. They pound Red Bull or worse yet smoke yah-bah to get them thru the night and attempt to arrive at the destination on time.

[masuk]

Having seen the way those vans get around in the early hours of the morning, and the way they travel on the highways, I wouldn't go near one.

I feel much safer in a reliable company such as the Green Coaches, and we have a pleasant journey up to Mae Sai every 90 days and return.

[chuchok]

we farang living here, have to report every 90 days, go begg each year for another extention

but cars, busses, trucks are never checked ever if they are road worthy or puffing out toxic fumes like those nice old 20 - 30 year or diesel trucks and busses which makes life and breathing very difficult

28.000 deaths per year, i tought any government would be concerned of losing so many of their country men

maybe here it is just a form of ... demographic controles ?

Mainly worthless peasants and farangs die in bus accidents.

Hardly worth getting worked up about it. Phu yai and their kids get driven around in german limos

here is one of the worthless peasants that you are taliking about.

The young lad in the middle is Bess with his mum (My ex ) and girlfriend taken in Feb this year. Bess was killed in the accident

I looked after him for 5 odd years...from the age of about 10 to 15.

A nicer young man you could not meet.He was 21 years old.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Sorry for the loss. Behind every headline there's always a human tragedy in someone's family/families.

As for Eddie's comment above, I'm pretty certain he was being sarcastic and reflecting the way the Thai officialdom might think as they do absolutely nothing to improve the terrible public transit safety record in this country.

[DocN]

we farang living here, have to report every 90 days, go begg each year for another extention

but cars, busses, trucks are never checked ever if they are road worthy or puffing out toxic fumes like those nice old 20 - 30 year or diesel trucks and busses which makes life and breathing very difficult

28.000 deaths per year, i tought any government would be concerned of losing so many of their country men

maybe here it is just a form of ... demographic controles ?

Mainly worthless peasants and farangs die in bus accidents.

Hardly worth getting worked up about it. Phu yai and their kids get driven around in german limos

here is one of the worthless peasants that you are taliking about.

The young lad in the middle is Bess with his mum (My ex ) and girlfriend taken in Feb this year. Bess was killed in the accident

I looked after him for 5 odd years...from the age of about 10 to 15.

A nicer young man you could not meet.He was 21 years old.

Ouch...sorry for your personal loss.

I hope, the text you responded to, was meant to be cynical.

[Scott]

Chuchok, you have my deepest sympathies. It is very true that there are always those who suffer from these tragedies.

These accidents do occur elsewhere, there was just a report that came across the feed in the World News today:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/632483-at-least-two-dead-in-texas-passenger-bus-accident/#entry6294262

[hullupullo]

28,000 deaths on the Thai road yearly...

28 000? Where that number is from? That is ~76 every day.

So why they call "7 Dangerous Days of Songkran" if yesterday only 39 died?

https://twitter.com/191Thailand/status/322539628055896066

#Songkran Death on the Roads: Day 1/7 - 39 dead (9 more than last year) & 342 injured (33 less)

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Dunno if it relates to your debate above, but we learned lately that there are two very different sets of road fatality statistics (at least) kept by the Thai govt.

A relatively low figure kept by the police, which only counts people who actually die right from collisions, and then a much higher figure kept by the Public Health Ministry that includes the larger group of people who die subsequently from injuries sustained.