Public health minister sets ambulance speed limit at 80 kph

[Lite Beer]

Public health minister sets ambulance speed limit at 80 kph

BANGKOK: -- Public Health Minister Rachata Rachatanavin has signed an order to set the speed limit of ambulances at 80 kilometers per hour when the ambulances are delivering emergency patients to hospitals.

He said a total of 19 people were killed in ambulance accidents last year.

The minister said equipment in ambulances could save life so the drivers have not to drive too fast.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Public-health-minister-sets-ambulance-speed-limit--30257813.html

-- The Nation 2015-04-10

[Stradavarius37]

So happy that this guy is no longer president of my university (mahidol) and instead he is the nation's problem. Enjoy folks!

[seajae]

do they even get that fast in the traffic seeing no one actually pulls over to let them through plus when you have police stopping them from leaving the accident scene where they picked up the injured person it doesnt help

[Boycie]

What's the stats for the amount of people killed and injured using Minivans?

Hope they will be next on the agenda for speed limitation!

[webfact]

Speed limit imposed at 80-kms per hour for ambulances



BANGKOK: -- Hospital ambulances with patients on board are prohibited to travel over 80 kilometres an hour.

This is the new instruction announced by the Public Health Ministry and became effective early this month.

Public Health Minister Ratchata Ratchatanavin who signed the announcement said safety concern was reason behind the speed limit of hospital ambulances.

He said last year 19 hospital personnel attached with the ambulances were killed while on duty to take patients to hospitals.

But he assured the public that the 80-kilometre speed limit would’t threaten the life of patient needed emergent medical treatment because all ambulances are well equipped with life support equipments.

In addition to speed limit in ambulance, he also introduced speed limit in all motor vehicles of the ministry.

Drivers are told to drive not over 90 kilometres an hour and in case of van, passengers must fasten seat belts, and must comply with traffic law strictly.

He said that he intended the health personnel to set good precedent for the people to abide by traffic laws.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/speed-limit-imposed-at-80-kms-per-hour-for-ambulances


-- Thai PBS 2015-04-10

[TigerandDog]

As usual, another Thai politician that has it arse about. Instead of restricting the speed for ambulances, and most likely contributing to the death of patients because the ambulance could not get to the hospital fast enough, the politicians should be directing the police to strictly enforce speed limits and having traffic give way to ambulances. If the police won't do their jobs properly, then let the Army do it. I'm sure any driver or bike rider confronted by a semi- automatic gun wielding army officer would have no hesitation in obeying the road rules. Ambulances should be able to drive as fast as conditions allow, What next, a speed limit on fire brigades. They'd never arrive on time to put a fire out, as it would have burned itself out by the time they arrive.

Edited April 10, 2015 by metisdead
Bold font removed.

[Thian]

Nobody cares for ambulances in BKK, also i don't understand if we have to stop or not for Police with sirens.

[TigerandDog]

"Drivers are told to drive not over 90 kilometres an hour and in case of van, passengers must fasten seat belts, and must comply with traffic law strictly."

So does this mean that in 40km / hr, 60km / hr and 80km / hr speed zones that it's ok for all ministry motor vehicles to drive at 90 km / hr. Hell will freeze over before speed limits of any description are properly enforced in Thailand.

Also which passengers MUST fasten seatbelts. If you're in the back seat you don't have to, and even if you did, a hell of a lot of vehicles don't have seatbelts fitted in the back seats. I haven't been in a van yet that has seat belts fitted for the rear seats. I thought Buddhists had this great respect for life. On the roads here, all I see is the exact opposite.

Edited April 10, 2015 by TigerandDog

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I don't think any drivers pull over here for anything or anyone, regardless, even if they can.

As for the speed limit, it's probably more of an issue out in the countryside where there are open highways, as opposed to inside BKK or other bigger cities.

When the minister talks about 'ambulances,' I wonder if he's talking about real ones like shown in the photo, or also including the countless foundation pickup truck ambulances, that have pretty much no equipment at all...or very little at best.

[DM07]

Some people have the head so deep in it, the brain gets not enough oxygen, it seems.

How else, do these statements come about?

[Carl64]

So the vehicles with flashing lights have to go slower than everything else???

Have I missed something here!

[JOC]

Public health minister sets ambulance speed limit at 80 kph

Maybe time for the minister go get into an ambulance himself, to have his head examined..............

[Tywais]

Health minister but doesn't know about the golden hour?

[Lupatria]

On which planet is this guy living? The average speed in metropolitan BKK is between 7 and 15 km/h and nobody is giving way for an ambulance with flashing lights and running sirens anyway.

Edited April 10, 2015 by Lupatria

[JOC]

>>But he assured the public that the 80-kilometre speed limit would’t threaten the life of patient needed emergent medical treatment because all ambulances are well equipped with life support equipments.<< Quote

Dear minister, we believe you:

[JOC]

>>He said last year 19 hospital personnel attached with the ambulances were killed while on duty to take patients to hospitals.<< Quote

Teaching the ambulance drivers to actually drive, is of course out of the question??

[connda]

Someone should inform the health minister that speed limits are not enforced in Thailand.

[trainman34014]

''All Ambulances are equipped with life saving equipment ''. What a laugh; take a look at them and most have a stretcher and if you are lucky enough you may find an oxygen tank and mask. Put that together with no real Paramedics or Ambulance Technicians, just one or two blokes in T shirts and flip flops and it's little more than a tin can on wheels with lights on top.....and some of them don't even work !

[writeshack]

I taken by ambulance from one hospital to another, about 145 km, in Isan. It was a simple transport, I most certainly wasn't in danger of dying. And the guy scared the living hell out of me with his reckless speed. Lights flashing, siren on, straight through red lights at intersections, dodging in an out of lanes. The gurney I was strapped on didn't even seem to be locked in place. I told him more than once there was no emergency and I wanted to arrive alive, but it made no difference of course. Limiting him to 80 kph would have been a godsend. And I certainly didn't see much in the way of "life saving equipment". The nurse was nice though, so that made up for a lot of it. Just another day in Thailand, not a rant.

[deckape]

No policing of the roads anyways. More unenforced nonsense. What a &lt;deleted&gt; moron too...80 is baby slow.

[petedk]

What's the problem?

With all the equipment they have on board they can deal with almost any emergency except maybe heart stop. Oh I forgot... no ploblem there are defibrillator stations set up around Bangkok.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/794586-defibrillators-in-public-places-for-heart-attack-victims-in-thailand/

Great Health Minister

[toybits]

Most of the time Ambulances are stuck behind traffic that refuses to move out of its way even with siren and flashing lights on. No wonder they have to speed up. There Just is No Awareness among motorists that they should move over to the side to allow these ambulances to safely pass.

[Choonpon]

Maybe it's time to retrain the ambulance drivers.

[lvr181]

Pathetic directive. About time some people joined the real world

Very little enforcement (but much gum beating) about current laws, makes a mockery of introducing (yet again) more laws

I wonder if someone gets paid a "bonus" for introducing new, non enforced laws? As usual, all talk but no commitment to making current laws work.

[StatlerandWaldorf]

Relax everyone, it is only another new law. If anyone actually bothered to obey ANY laws then it may be worth getting agitated about.

I think it was the South Korean coach of the Thai national Taikwondo team who said "Thais have no discipline", I do find it difficult to disagree with him.

[Strangebrew]

I think maybe just maybe if you enforce the law that if emergency vehicle with light and siren going you pull your dumb arse over to allow them to pass Wait is there even a law about this?

[jerojero]

There are ambulance services in Thailand? Where.

[h90]

80 makes it one of the slowest cars on the highway

[LuckyLew]

The number of times that I have seen ambulances stuck in traffic with the lights glaring and the sirens going is too many to count

Wonder how many people died on the way to the hospital but were stuck in traffic and Somchai did not have the necessary equipement to save the life

Thai people would not move to give way even iif it were their parents in the ambulance

[lvr181]

laissez faire attitude with mai pen rai equals (I think) "Thainess" In plain English - who gives a s**t damn! So sad really.

I find many Thai people to be great and some lovely places to visit there also. But what an awful prevailing attitude among so many