Thai Transport department to enforce slope test for public transport buses

[johnnytuc]

What is the mentality of these people!!! If the vehicle fails the test then it should be impounded, and held until the owners pay for the vehicle to be roadworthy.End of story.

[animatic]

All 17,588 buses must pass test by 2018

How about they all must pass in the next month, and are taken off the road if they don't....

Not needed to be safe for FOUR MORE YEARS.... righty O.

Edited March 28, 2014 by animatic

[Lupatria]

This is what road safety means here and what is worth to spend money on. Forget about the brakes as long as you go down in a flash of light...

Edited March 28, 2014 by Lupatria

[retell]

Bus owners would be allowed to improve the bus condition and get the test again within one month. If the buses still do not pass the test, another three months will be given. If the buses still do not pass the third test, another six months will be allowed for improvement.

But he said if the buses still do not pass the final test, owner will not be able to renew the annual license registration.

He warned that if buses failed the slope test are caught being used, owners will face up to five years of jail term and fine of 40,000 baht.

Do they realise how absurd this makes them sound. Every time the bus fails , the time to repair gets longer. 45% are failing.

Are they really going to put 45% of the buses off the road?

So after the furst fail i would sugest they are not allowed to use that bus ?

Or after the 3rd test ?

[retell]

If my addition is correct, 10 months to "work it out" are allowed for the unsafe bus to continue on it's tipsy way. Lots of time to negotiate those payoff curves. What bothers me somewhat is they think this sort of window dressing foolishness will somehow satisfy those among us with half a brain into believing authorities are serious about safety. And of course ignoring the major factor, the driver....

And offcourse the quality maintained roads

[bushman1666]

Phew..thats a relief!

We can rest in our reclining overnight seats now in the sure knowledge that along with Fire and Emergency rules and regs for nightclubs, this matter will be rigorously & ruthlessly enforced and wrong doers will be, wait for it!............. "prosecuted further according to the Thai law"

An envelope full of crisp new 1000 baht notes will take care of any need for prosecution.

Sent from my very clever thingy that uses battery far too quickly

[ginjag]

This is what road safety means here and what is worth to spend money on. Forget about the brakes as long as you go down in a flash of light...

No this is the company RECOVERY bus, ensuring the incident is well lit up. and he has Dreamliner back up batteries.

[tetleythedog]

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Bus owners would be allowed to improve the bus condition and get the test again within one month. If the buses still do not pass the test, another three months will be given. If the buses still do not pass the third test, another six months will be allowed for improvement.

But he said if the buses still do not pass the final test, owner will not be able to renew the annual license registration.

He warned that if buses failed the slope test are caught being used, owners will face up to five years of jail term and fine of 40,000 baht.




Do they realise how absurd this makes them sound. Every time the bus fails , the time to repair gets longer. 45% are failing.

Are they really going to put 45% of the buses off the road?

Of course they won't. After this has calmed down, all the buses will pass with the exchange of 1,000 or so Baht. When they have an accident, they will say that the bus was ok when it did the test. A nice little earner for the testing stations !

[bushman1666]

Of course it's a very good idea, BUT this doesn't help against:

- ya baa

- sleep driver

- speedy driver.

Or a combination of all 3...............then you are on a slippery slope.

A static 30 degree test will hardly replicate the forces at work when one of these pimped monsters is thrown round a bend on the wrong side of the road at 120kmph. And will do nothing to counter the poor driving standards of the driver at the end of a 15 hour shift off his face on Yaba and Red Bull. Nor will it reproduce the Thai obsession with having to get in front at ANY cost.

Sent from my very clever thingy that uses battery far too quickly

[PatOngo]

What is the mentality of these people!!! If the vehicle fails the test then it should be impounded, and held until the owners pay for the vehicle to be roadworthy.End of story.

Stop making sense please. TIT!

[shaurene]

If the bus does not pass the tests for registration it is obviously not in a safe condition and hence should not be given any extra time.

I hope those who complain about Top Gear read this headline

Harry, you would have to get a warrant of fitness in western countries if the vehicle has a problem they allow it to be fixed within a time period, so what would you say if say, UK came out with a new law that if your vehicle does not pass you cannot fix it to get it through the test, you being bit silly with that comment.

[ginjag]

What is the mentality of these people!!! If the vehicle fails the test then it should be impounded, and held until the owners pay for the vehicle to be roadworthy.End of story.

Stop making sense please. TIT!

Also the vehicle may be 100% BUT STILL get the blame.

[phanangpete]

Its ironic, 100 innocent lives lost (including children ) since October last, Fec, i have a seven yr old daughter who travelled every Songran, by bus up north with her mum, not this year,

i cut the life line , money.

The risk is just far too great, im minimising all travel risks in thIs god fogotten Country untill standards reach acceptable levels she may be 20yrs by that time !

What are the total figs for the last 5 yrs, eh, does the Transport minister really care about those, i dare say not, im sure his children don't travel by public transport, thats if they are in the Country and not living abroad receiving a real education, by real people who care !

On the positive side ,if they follow through, its heartening .

Edited March 28, 2014 by phanangpete

[ginjag]

All buses that are not roadworthy should be given an INACTIVE POST.----and that could have a double meaning.

[wilcopops]

and Thailand has just had this idea??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-fZA1NJtPA

Good old English engineering. I wonder if the Thai test includes loading the upper deck? Very important for the test to mean anything.

Thailand has had this facility for ages - they just don't use it. I'm not convinced that the words of the ministers are anything more than that. Experience suggested that any new zeal will soon dissipate ands the situation will return to an unsatisfactory "normal".

Furthermore as ever this is just a single issue to a problem that is FAR more complex than that - so it is doomed from the start.

[NoBrainer]

How about doing the test with the upper deck full of people, or sandbags representing the weight of real people.

I would wager that the failure rate would double.

[ginjag]

All buses that are not roadworthy should be given an INACTIVE POST.----and that could have a double meaning.

My picture is the most safest form of transport room for 3 upstairs.

[WhizBang]

Will the PC crowd be up in arms over the word slope again?

I saw that Top Gear episode and it was nothing more than typical Clarkson humor.

[phanangpete]

On a note that other posters are making about safety standards , i was reading sometime ago on a forum here about manufactured vechiles here in Thailand ie: Toyota pickups, Isuzu, etc.

A transport engineer from the States said that they would not pass any safety standards in his Country let alone EU.

I can't go into any detail as it was a few years ago, but it stuck with me as ive driven both, now driving a Hilux, both bought new. Oh dear !

[wilcopops]

How about doing the test with the upper deck full of people, or sandbags representing the weight of real people.

I would wager that the failure rate would double.

I bleive that's already part of the test.

[wilcopops]

On a note that other posters are making about safety standards , i was reading sometime ago on a forum here about manufactured vechiles here in Thailand ie: Toyota pickups, Isuzu, etc.

A transport engineer from the States said that they would not pass any safety standards in his Country let alone EU.

I can't go into any detail as it was a few years ago, but it stuck with me as ive driven both, now driving a Hilux, both bought new. Oh dear !

This is true.

Many of the vehicles manufactured here do not comply with safety/emission rag in EU or US.

Although pickups are allowed in these markets they have stricter regulations - one of the reasons why the exported models are more expensive.

however the basic design and construction of pickups is archaic and she it comes to safety, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Toyota's IMV project has an example of this. The vigo/Fortuner/Innova range of vehicles is designed with emerging economies in mind in particular. The vehicles do not require very hi-tech assemble plants and can rely on relatively cheap, semi-skilled labor.....but they are chassis based and archaic in concept masking them poor candidates when it comes to overall safety.

Edited March 28, 2014 by wilcopops

[laobali]

When will bus drivers be subjected to a stability test?

That's a different type of slope test.

[wilcopops]

If the bus does not pass the tests for registration it is obviously not in a safe condition and hence should not be given any extra time.

I hope those who complain about Top Gear read this headline

Why would anyone complain? JC used the word in it's form as a term of racist abuse in a failed attempt at humour [deliberately, it wasn't just an unfortunate coincidence], whereas this article uses it in it's form as a word to indicate an incline.

Wasn't a failed attempt at humour. Made me laugh but then I'm not sensitive and totally PC. Some people need to lighten up.

Gave me a giggle.

It's called a "tilt" test - the person writing/translating the headline knows perfectly well what is written and thinks it is a joke to use this slur again,

[DrTuner]

I knew it. Saw the headline and could guess who'd written the last message in a millisecond. Another 30 pages coming up ?

[ginjag]

This is what road safety means here and what is worth to spend money on. Forget about the brakes as long as you go down in a flash of light...

Can't help but notice the slope on the front.

Is it driven from the rear ?? Does this bus have a windscreen, a bus like this has only got a LIGHT load.

Edited March 28, 2014 by ginjag

[bluebluewater]

I must say I'm curious as to the test itself. Do they determine that the bus fails if it falls over before the incline reaches 30 degrees?

And if half of them are failing that's a lotta pickin' up those boys must be doing!

[Rorri]

Thai at Heart, on 28 Mar 2014 - 07:07, said:Thai at Heart, on 28 Mar 2014 - 07:07, said:

Bus owners would be allowed to improve the bus condition and get the test again within one month. If the buses still do not pass the test, another three months will be given. If the buses still do not pass the third test, another six months will be allowed for improvement.

But he said if the buses still do not pass the final test, owner will not be able to renew the annual license registration.

He warned that if buses failed the slope test are caught being used, owners will face up to five years of jail term and fine of 40,000 baht.

Do they realise how absurd this makes them sound. Every time the bus fails , the time to repair gets longer. 45% are failing.

Are they really going to put 45% of the buses off the road?

Um, No, they don't think, so how can they realise how absurd they are. In many western countries, these buses, that fail, would be off the road until they pass the safety tests. The dept of land transport effectively allows the killing to continue and should be charged with negligence causing death.

Edited March 28, 2014 by Rorri

[kannot]

1st time lucky 2nd time lucky 3rd time lucky 4th time have to pay the bribe, I feel much safer now than the start of this sentence that,s for sure.....mainly as Im not on the road and in my comfy room.

40k baht fine!! I bet they are sh***ing themselves eh?

Edited March 28, 2014 by kannot

[djjamie]

I would love to read what Jeremy Clarkeson's take on the OP's title would be!!

Edited March 28, 2014 by djjamie

[Tomtomtom69]

Bus owners would be allowed to improve the bus condition and get the test again within one month. If the buses still do not pass the test, another three months will be given. If the buses still do not pass the third test, another six months will be allowed for improvement.

But he said if the buses still do not pass the final test, owner will not be able to renew the annual license registration.

He warned that if buses failed the slope test are caught being used, owners will face up to five years of jail term and fine of 40,000 baht.

Do they realise how absurd this makes them sound. Every time the bus fails , the time to repair gets longer. 45% are failing.

Are they really going to put 45% of the buses off the road?

I doubt it, but let's savour the thought of having fewer buses on Thai roads...that would be a good thing I think. There are already too many buses on Thai roads as it is.