Lethal Phuket tour bus crash prompts B10mn budget to fix road

[Lite Beer]

Lethal Phuket tour bus crash prompts B10mn budget to fix road
Phuket Gazette -

PHUKET: The Phuket Highways Office has secured 10 million baht to widen the road at the bottom of Patong Hill in the hope of preventing further fatal bus crashes caused by brake failure the news comes as officers hold a close door meeting today.

The meeting follows a runaway tour bus slamming into five vehicles, including one motorcycle, killing two people and leaving 26 others injured on December 29 (story here).

The bus, loaded with Russian and Thai tourists, stopped only after ramming a concrete barrier and hitting a power pole in front of Wat Suwankiriwong (map here).

“We have drawn up a plan to expand the road from three to four lanes. This should help traffic flow and reduce the need for drivers to use their brakes so much,” Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad said.

“We already have the 10 million baht budget required. The construction plan has been submitted to the Ministry of Transport in Bangkok and is expected to be approved in March,” he added.

The project will see 500 meters of Phra Barami Road expanded to four lanes, starting in front of the abandoned Crest resort and ending at the junction in front of Patong Temple.

“The road expansion will take 150 days to complete. We will expand it while we install larger drains along the roadside so both projects can be finished at the same time,” Mr Samak explained.

However, Mr Samak admitted that little more could be done to make the road safer.

“There is not enough room to reduce the incline of the descent into Patong. If you want to make driving into Patong safer, I recommend we build a tunnel through the hills as soon as possible,” he said.

“Some people will be negatively affected by such a project, but it will help save lives,” Mr Samak noted.

The horrific bus crash before New Year’s Eve prompted Governor Maitri Inthusut to call on the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) to draw up a list of suggestions to prevent more fatal accidents from occurring on the notorious hill.

PLTO Chief Transport Technician Jaturong Kaewkasi presented a list of nine recommendations to the governor on January 1 (story here).

“Over the years, there have been many accidents on Patong Hill involving buses or trucks that have had brake failure. These accidents have cost many lives,” Mr Jaturong said.

Among the suggestions was the idea to ban all buses and trucks travelling over Patong Hill at all times and to transfer passengers to and from Patong by van. Another suggestion was to set a maximum age for all heavy vehicles travelling over the hill.

Governor Maitri led officials on an inspection of the site on January 3 to evaluate the efficacy of the nine suggestions.

“We will now raise our ideas with business owners to see if they have any valuable suggestions,” Mr Jaturong said yesterday.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2014/Lethal-Phuket-tour-bus-crash-prompts-B10mn-budget-to-fix-road-23230.html

-- Phuket News 2014-01-09

[Valentine]

Horses bolting comes to mind but better late than never. However, no amount of road improvements will stop buses crashing until drivers are made or learn to use their gears. Accountability for the owners of the buses could also help as they always seem to get off scot free.

[JoeThePoster]

reduce the need for drivers to use their brakes so much

Yup, that should reduce the number of accidents. Sounds like a crackdown on braking to reduce brake failure.

Edited January 9, 2014 by JoeThePoster

[LivinginKata]

Never mind widen to 4 lanes, the problem will remain - a sharp 90 degree bend. Yet I see no plan to deal with that severe bend.

[Big Pinkie]

Among the suggestions was the idea to ban all buses and trucks travelling over Patong Hill at all times and to transfer passengers to and from Patong by van.

many sleepless night dreaming of new ways to taxi scam farang, really amazing that they can even get out of bed in the morning.

[Costas2008]

"The construction plan has been submitted to the Ministry of Transport in Bangkok and is expected to be approved in March,” he added."

Yes, I agree better late than never........but as they are waiting for an approval from an incompetent department this will be more late and more late and more late.....................

[JetsetBkk]

"We have drawn up a plan to expand the road from three to four lanes. This should help traffic flow and reduce the need for drivers to use their brakes so much," Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad said.

I wonder how much he paid for his job.

[pacovl46]

How about introducing mandatory safety inspections of cars every 2 years and who fails to show his car will go to prison for 10 years instead of widening a road!!!

[Pomthai]

How about some use low gear signs like the rest of the world does. Or isnt there enough fat to be skimmed off of the cost of a few signs and poles?

Edited January 9, 2014 by Pomthai

[bangarang]

How about some use low gear signs like the rest of the world does. Or isnt there enough fat to be skimmed off of the cost of a few signs and poles?

You think they are going to spend money on incline signs? What makes you think that could ever happen? They cant even produce signs posting the speed limit.

[Patanawet]

Why "officers hold a close(sic) door meeting today."?

Why not open ---- oh, hang on, I think I know why!

[Felt 35]

Underpasses, tunnels, road widening it sure cost some Baht! Can make one wonder if the authorities ever have done a research into how much a decent driving education for the locals would cost the Government annually.

[andreandre]

The PW says that within a couple of weeks buses and trucks will be banned from going into Patong over the hill, having to go instead via Kamala or Karon...

Again..two totally different stories as to whats going on here...no wonder nothing ever gets done right..[ and neither of these options are right IMO]

[12DrinkMore]

Thailand, yet another,

it's a failed brake hub

Sorry.

So sorry.

Had to post it though.

[Ulic]

Having driven down that hill hundreds of times I can't for the life of me figure out how this widening

is supposed to make things safer. As already suggested signage telling bus/truck drivers to gear

down would be simple but getting drivers to do it would be another issue entirely.

[SOTIRIOS]

...how about reducing the angle of the incline.....

...wider road at the bottom....

....may have the opposite effect.....increase in speed....

[wprime]

Having driven down that hill hundreds of times I can't for the life of me figure out how this widening

is supposed to make things safer. As already suggested signage telling bus/truck drivers to gear

down would be simple but getting drivers to do it would be another issue entirely.

It allows the buses to not have to brake their way down the hill so when they hit things it'll be due to speeding rather than brake failure.This way the law allows for the driver to be charged.

[Benmart]

I won't pretend to be a traffic engineer, accident or political expert. Here are some thoughts.

1. Mandatory driver education and certification

2. Mandatory and random vehicle safety inspections

3. Random drug and alcohol screening

4. Road and signage improvements

5. CCTVs at areas where accidents are frequent

6. Public and business involvement in government meetings with no closed doors

7. Consequences for law violators

8. Media coverage and follow up

9. Solid, consistent and continuous law enforcement which is held accountable and whose actions are made a public record

10. A public commitment by responsible government agencies with transparency of what they are doing to mitigate accidents.

11. Consult experts in the field, regardless of nationality, to help solve the problem.

I know this is Thailand and it may be a long time coming, but it's just a thought.

Peace All and buckle up.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Benmart

[xylophone]

Never mind widen to 4 lanes, the problem will remain - a sharp 90 degree bend. Yet I see no plan to deal with that severe bend.

Let me see if I've got this right...........widening the road will allow for more traffic, so more traffic on the road means more people as well, so when another badly maintained heavy vehicle comes careening down that hill it has a lot more chance of doing some damage and killing people?

It's a bit like the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff (sorry about the pun) remedy rather than pursuing actions which will take poorly maintained vehicles off the road.

Only in Thailand, and the more you read about these "solutions", the more you wonder about the future of the country.

[steelepulse]

Nice little money earner that will not help make the road safer at all. Why not come up with a better solution and put the 10 million towards lfesaving on the beach?

[andreandre]

Never mind widen to 4 lanes, the problem will remain - a sharp 90 degree bend. Yet I see no plan to deal with that severe bend.

Let me see if I've got this right...........widening the road will allow for more traffic, so more traffic on the road means more people as well, so when another badly maintained heavy vehicle comes careening down that hill it has a lot more chance of doing some damage and killing people?

It's a bit like the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff (sorry about the pun) remedy rather than pursuing actions which will take poorly maintained vehicles off the road.

Only in Thailand, and the more you read about these "solutions", the more you wonder about the future of the country.

You are not getting the "solution" that in their minds is right here:

"This should help traffic flow and reduce the need for drivers to use their brakes so much,”

See, in the minds of these genii this is indeed the "solution" if there's more lanes of traffic ,so as to prevent a traffic build up, then the buses wont have to use their brakes so much and this will prevent the buses from having "brake failure" which is what it's all about..... Logic is a word not found in Thai dictionary!!

The road is just as steep, the drivers are unskilled,[the No1 problem]but these are not an issue in their minds

These clowns must have script writers from Thai comedy shows to come out with such a never ending series of non sense ideas.

Like you say xylophone..".Only in Thailand, and the more you read about these "solutions", the more you wonder about the future of the country."

[britpop]

Fantastic, widening the bottom of the hill will allow 2 or more buses to hurtle down the hill at once out of control, The fault was with the bus. not the road, on the kathu side leading up the hill, put a temporary weigh station type of inspection, at random drag the buses in, inspect, fine and if need be confiscate , see how quick the operators get there buses whipped into shape. 10 million baht to change the road, that's really 1 million baht and a new car, house for a high ranking official, sorry to sound so cynical, but when is enough truly going to be enough when it come to innocent people dying .

[JetsetBkk]

How about some use low gear signs like the rest of the world does. Or isnt there enough fat to be skimmed off of the cost of a few signs and poles?

You think they are going to spend money on incline signs? What makes you think that could ever happen? They cant even produce signs posting the speed limit.

These type of signs do exist.

And some of them are right to the point:

This particular road is less steep than Patong hill, IMO. You can Google Earth the signs here: 7°49'39.36"N 98°23'27.30"E

.

[mok199]

if the driver drives resposibly.... god......i come form the rocky mountains where we have tours daily ...they dont try and flatten the grade ,they drive ''accordingly''...it is the driver and the equipment ...end of discusion.....

[eezergood]

if the driver drives resposibly.... god......i come form the rocky mountains where we have tours daily ...they dont try and flatten the grade ,they drive ''accordingly''...it is the driver and the equipment ...end of discusion.....

and welcome to Thailand

[JulesMad]

You can make the road 10 lanes wide, but if you can NOT drive, it will not make ANY difference...

[Valentine]

How about some use low gear signs like the rest of the world does. Or isnt there enough fat to be skimmed off of the cost of a few signs and poles?

You think they are going to spend money on incline signs? What makes you think that could ever happen? They cant even produce signs posting the speed limit.

These type of signs do exist.

And some of them are right to the point:

This particular road is less steep than Patong hill, IMO. You can Google Earth the signs here: 7°49'39.36"N 98°23'27.30"E

.

There is a sharp incline sign on the Patong hill but is partially obscured by foliage. I have seen them elsewhere around Phuket. What is lacking are speed limit signs. I honestly thought the speed limit in built up areas was 60kph (which IMO is fairly sensible) but the head of the police has informed us it is 80 & that as everyone who drives has passed the driving licence test they should all know what it is.

As someone else said the logic of widening the road so as to make it safer when the brakes fail due to overheating & not using the gears is logically wrong thinking to a western mind i.e. overheating & using gears does not enter into the way of thinking.

[EBlair48]

Maybe instead of brake " failure" it is actually the worn down asphalt that is too slippery and the driver's in experience on slippery surfaces. They keep the foot on the brake in a panic , the wheels lock up and all control is lost.

Drivers from icy conditions know to pump the brakes in these kind of circumstances and when a skid starts, take the brakes off completely.

And instead of making the road wider , which yes, of course will lead to more speeders, lay down concrete, it has much better traction than asphalt, particularly old asphalt, which oozes oil.

[andreandre]

Maybe instead of brake " failure" it is actually the worn down asphalt that is too slippery and the driver's in experience on slippery surfaces. They keep the foot on the brake in a panic , the wheels lock up and all control is lost.

Drivers from icy conditions know to pump the brakes in these kind of circumstances and when a skid starts, take the brakes off completely.

And instead of making the road wider , which yes, of course will lead to more speeders, lay down concrete, it has much better traction than asphalt, particularly old asphalt, which oozes oil.

Maybe instead of brake " failure" it is actually the worn down asphalt that is too slippery and the driver's in experience on slippery surfaces. They keep the foot on the brake in a panic , the wheels lock up and all control is lost.

Ahhmmm...NO...

[EBlair48]

^

Go and look at the road yourself, it's practically glass. it needs resurfacing and concrete is a far better surface for these conditions. There's a reason airports don't use asphalt on runways. While I certainly agree that yes, most Thai drivers are pretty bad, there seems to be some mitigating circumstances here and this explanation is more than plausible.

My suggestion; Spend half the amount resurfacing with concrete. though probably no one's brother has the equipment to do it on such a large scale, lack of available fund skimming might be a hindrance.

Edited January 14, 2014 by EBlair48