Double-decker bus may be banned from hilly roads in Thailand

[webfact]

Double-decker bus may be banned from hilly roads



BANGKOK: -- The Land Transport Department is now contemplating of implementing stricter controls for double-deck passenger buses running on unsafe routes in wake of numerous incidents involving such vehicles.

Land Transport Department director-general Adsathai Ratanadilok na Phuket stated that he has sent a team to investigate the site of Monday passenger bus accident in Tak province.

The team will take into consideration many factors such as the condition of the road as well as the condition of the wreck of the bus in order to ascertain the actual cause of the accident.

He stated that the team will be revealing its findings within the next 2 – 3 days.

But in wake of the many repetitions of accidents involving these type of vehicles, he said that his department was in the process of implementing protocols which will ensure that double-deck buses will not traverse risky or dangerous routes such as mountainous and extreme winding roads in future.

As of the present, there are all together 20,000 double-deck passenger buses in operation in the country.

Of these, 10,000 are classified as type 30 vehicles which do not ply regular routes but provide special charter service to small groups to varying destinations.

As for the vehicle which lost control and plunged into a ravine in Mae Sot district of Tak province, it has been revealed that the bus operator purchased 3rd Party insurance from Viriya Insurance Company.

Representatives of the insurance company stated that the company was paying indemnity to all passengers of the ill-fated bus.

The indemnity payments will be divided into 1) 50,000 Baht for cases of death or maiming – of which there are 29 persons; 2) a maximum of 50,000 Baht for injuries – of which there are 20 persons.

Further compensation claims will have to be processed and considered as the policy issued by the insurance company allows for a maximum total payment of indemnity per case of 10 million Baht and a maximum of 300,000 Baht for individual claims.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/double-decker-bus-may-banned-hilly-roads/


-- Thai PBS 2014-03-26

[wxpwzrd]

Blah blah blah blah - every time someone in the government speaks, it reminds me of that teacher from Charlie Brown cartoons...

[SABloke]

Let's just close this thread now - we all know it's BS

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[LennyW]

Ban the double deckers and let the crazy mini vans run free, hell yeah!!

[bangkokheat]

side stepping the real issue here, untrained uneducated drivers and REAL stiff penalties

[Fookhaht]

It's not the double-decking that's the problem. It's the half-level training (or none) that these drivers get.

Never yet seen a bus driver in Thailand use an engine for breaking. Naw--ride those smokin' brakes 'til they fail!

Again, a smoke-and-mirrors move by the inept Land Transport Ministry.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Fookhaht

[ChrisY1]

Banning busses, poor roads....probably so many more excuses to come from the Transport department.

In reality, the department has been showing their complete ineptness for decades here....they have massive budgets and are likely top heavy in their management make-up.....but they have certainly shown their complete ineptness to manage transport with any level of efficiency.

Not so long ago it was deemed that many of these busses were over the 4.0m height limit...this one was 4.5m high. Nothing said??

Driver training must be implemented immediately...and that means drivers must be professionally trained and managed. Foreign trainers and systems required...yes....it would never be accepted!

Mechanical devices (speed limiters) to manage speed must be mandatory to ALL busses in Thailand.

IVMS gps systems installed.

The list of improvements could probably be endless....and unfortunately, with thousands of busses travelling the country, the logistics for the Thai government and their available resources to look after this in some fashion, would limit the outcomes.....but a start must be made.

[andygunther]

As if it were the buses fault ....

Better would be to train and set higher standards for drivers.

I don't know what type of work rules that apply here in Thailand, if any.

I often read that the drivers fall asleep at the wheel.

[ChrisY1]

It's not the double-decking that's the problem. It's the half-level training (or none) that these drivers get.

Never yet seen a bus driver in Thailand use an engine for breaking. Naw--ride those smokin' brakes 'til they fail!

Again, a smoke-and-mirrors move by the inept Land Transport Ministry.

"Jake Brakes".....they're not installed on the engines (to my knowledge) in Thailand...

In any case if they were, then no doubt the operators would disconnect....also exhaust systems.....they are usually straight through....no mufflers, limited back pressure.

[baneko]

I bet they dont ban double deckers from unsafe routes.

I also bet that if they do ban them from dangerous routes nobody will care and carry on as normal.

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[wilcopops]

This like so many other (road safety) dictums in Thailand is a complete waste of time and only serves to highlight the profound ignorance of those in charge of road safety in the Kingdom.

These "VIP" busses are nothing more than rolling death traps. Many Western tour operators refuse to accept them on their tours. Like so many things Thai, they are all "face" with no substance. They look great but have no structural strength, the seating it lethal and they encourage passengers to move around whilst the bus is in motion. The structure is largely timber and aluminium sheet, adorned with composite mouldings.

In the event of any incident or collision the superstructure just disintegrates, leaving passengers to fly about completely unprotected.

Banning the busses from certain roads will involve decision-making by bureaucrats who really haven't a clue about what is going on and inevitable will be unwieldy, inaccurate and incomplete. Once that is erroneously decided upon, it will have to be enforced......and one had to say to that "fat chance".

There are so many issues in Thai road safety and piecemeal efforts like this are more than a waste of time, they are actually HARMFUL as they detract from the real problems and tie a false impression that something is being done.

As far as the coaches/busses are concerned, the first thing would be to BAN them all and install a program of safety regulations. There are platy of these in operation around the world which could be adopted quite quickly. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should Thailand attempt to develop their own program from scratch.

[Noi657]

Ban double deckers? Ban some of the muppets driving them!

[slapout]

The investigative team being sent to the accident site is probably as compitent as the 'Land transport director general', the driver of the bus, the insurance coverage provided by the tour bus owner, records of maintance of vehicle and drivers training/driving history, etc.

In addition they will spend tousands of baht to paint a tour bus up like a street prostitute, but are not concerned with gross weight vs brake capability, number of tires on the ground nor limiting speed via a governor system.

[edgarfriendly]

mun mun mun....

shitty drivers MAY not be required to improve their 'skills' (driving/cognitive/etc)

everyone else MAY remain in danger......

watch out for the WORLDS MOST DANGEROUS Roads....TTM (ThaiTradeMark)

...theyre killers!!!

Chai Yooooo!!

[wilcopops]

As if it were the buses fault ....

Better would be to train and set higher standards for drivers.

I don't know what type of work rules that apply here in Thailand, if any.

I often read that the drivers fall asleep at the wheel.

Primarily it WAS the bus's ...the design of these buses is so bad they wouldn't be allowed on the road in many countries (probably even Thailand!).

Human error is certainly a factor in many accidents and the media and authorities LOVE to say the driver fell asleep....true or not it is a quick way to close the affair. But the situation remains in a better equipped (tacographs etc - see posts above), regulated bus the chances of driver error are massively reduced.

but there ugly truth remains that in the event of any kind of driver error these buses are far more deadly than they need to be.

[laurentbkk]

would be wiser to send the drivers for proper training and double check the bus before going on roads .....

[finnomick]

Banning busses, poor roads....probably so many more excuses to come from the Transport department.

In reality, the department has been showing their complete ineptness for decades here....they have massive budgets and are likely top heavy in their management make-up.....but they have certainly shown their complete ineptness to manage transport with any level of efficiency.

Not so long ago it was deemed that many of these busses were over the 4.0m height limit...this one was 4.5m high. Nothing said??

Driver training must be implemented immediately...and that means drivers must be professionally trained and managed. Foreign trainers and systems required...yes....it would never be accepted!

Mechanical devices (speed limiters) to manage speed must be mandatory to ALL busses in Thailand.

IVMS gps systems installed.

The list of improvements could probably be endless....and unfortunately, with thousands of busses travelling the country, the logistics for the Thai government and their available resources to look after this in some fashion, would limit the outcomes.....but a start must be made.

Couldn't agree with you more.

I was going to post a simple question:- " Who ( in the government ) cares ? I know I'd be risking the ' hang 'em high ' brigade on TV but if anyone in this or previous governments DID care, there'd be laws and legislation pertaining to road traffic and transport such as can be encountered in the UK. I've been involved in most levels of transportation and regulation for over 40 years and the number of times I've sworn and cursed about regulations is a lot, but in the end, it led to safer roads, safer operating standards and way fewer lives lost -- unlike here in Thailand.

If the government don't know where to start, they know what they have to do, and that is to ask for outside help.

[Johnnie99]

Yes, that's right - ban the buses from hills, don't bother making sure buses are safe.

[Lieberdavid]

These comments support further the argument to avoid buses all together and to take the train when circumstances permit,

[rebelplatoon]

I must add. I have seen some very skilled drivers and some that wouldn't be allowed to drive a supermarket cart abroad. They need education and stay off the Yaa Baa.

[ppmacready]

I notice out side the immigration office in Jomtien one shop is using Pino staff.

So much better.

No scowl or lemon chewing and there very helpful and polite.

Easy to spot which shop, its crowded, the other is now dead!

I can see a day when Thailand will run smoothly run by other nationalitys!

So my idea -

Instead of employing Falang bus drivers to teach English.

Employ them to drive the buses!

[VocalNeal]

These "VIP" busses are nothing more than rolling death traps. Many Western tour operators refuse to accept them on their tours.

Name one?

Edited March 26, 2014 by VocalNeal

[WhizBang]

These "VIP" busses are nothing more than rolling death traps. Many Western tour operators refuse to accept them on their tours. Like so many things Thai, they are all "face" with no substance. They look great but have no structural strength, the seating it lethal and they encourage passengers to move around whilst the bus is in motion. The structure is largely timber and aluminium sheet, adorned with composite mouldings.

Exactly. There was a BBC documentary on these 'homemade' buses a while back. It's conclusions were not good.

They need to ban ALL these homemade buses and allow only properly manufactured and engineered buses from reputable manufacturers on the road. They also need to strictly enforce proper training for ALL public transport drivers, and hold the companies responsible if it is found the bus was altered in an unsafe way or the driver was unqualified.

Hit the bus companies in the pocketbook. That is the only thing they will understand and react to.

But, as usual, I expect absolutely nothing to come of this. This is, after all, Thailand.

[chooka]

Contemplated. Spoke to all my bus company owner mates and no one can identify a problem. Business as usual.

[stickylies]

busses cannot lose face so blame the busses.

the family members of the victims (retirees on a sanouk-trip, sigh) should unite and start class action against all parties involved.

[webfact]

Chatchart: Driver negligence caused tragic coach accident in Tak

TAK, 26 March 2014 (NNT) – Minister of Transport Chatchart Sitthiphan indicated on Tuesday that preliminary findings suggested the driver of the coach that plunged down a cliff in Tak had been speeding and trying to overtake the car in front, before the coach slipped out of the curve.

30 people lost their lives in the coach incident that occurred on Monday night on mountainous terrain in Tak province. The passengers were staff at Tha Sai Luat Municipality in Tak who were on a field trip to Laos. 24 persons suffered injuries.

Mr. Chatchart said part of the cause stemmed from the driver's negligence. However, he is having the Highways Department survey the route to create a new design that would reduce the chance of accidents in the future. Land Transport Department engineers will also be inspecting the route.

The minister then visited survivors of the accident and relatives of the deceased at Taksin Maharat Hospital, which was encountering the problem of insufficient space in the morgue.


-- NNT 2014-03-26

[Seashore]

How about just banning stupid drivers who don't know how to handle these buses!

[moe666]

Just returned from a road trip passed several tour buses that were not double deckers but still not a single either. The drivers were doing about 90k on a back 2lane road within safety limits of road. Cannot remember name of company sorry folks

[wilcopops]

I agree driver training is hugely imp[ortant, but there seems to be a group of people on Thai visa who always like to blame the driver for every problem on Thai roads.

EVERY country has stupid/bad drivers so how come Thailand has such desperate figures?

A little thought around the matter will come up with some idea of why.

it's very easy to "blame" a driver. The truth is that this probably says more about the limitations of the accuser than the accused. Those with limited knowledge of road safety always consider themselves to be wonderful drivers and superior to locals in every way. They are not actually criticising rationally but reinforcing their ow inadequacies.

without a comprehensive approach to road safety in Thailand any piecemeal measures will whither and die within months.

this is an emerging economy and infrastructure is poor, unthought out and largely still under construction....until roads and road safety are re-thought from the bottom up nothing will happen to the figures. Thailand is the ninth largest producer of motor vehicles in the world, the increase in traffic is exponential, yet little is done to improve safety in any aspect at all.

There is a real cost to the nation - The death, injury and loss of property costs Thailand a fortune every year and in most countries this cost is considered unacceptable.

just going on about the driver and "blame" brings nothing constructive to the problem at all.

Edited March 26, 2014 by wilcopops

[wilcopops]

These "VIP" busses are nothing more than rolling death traps. Many Western tour operators refuse to accept them on their tours.

Name one?

No Neal i will not.

I come too this discussion with a good knowledge of road safety issues and hope to have a good discussion about the issues I do not intend to "educate" those who bereft of any information on the subject, think they are clever by making facile posts like yours.

If you have an issue with anything on my posts put forward a counter argument. If you have nothing to say then just keep mum until you know something about the subject.