Banned vans: Officials pull 3,000 old public vans from road
By Coconuts Bangkok

BANGKOK -- In a crackdown on public vans, a transport method known for its speeding drivers, officials announced yesterday they had banned over 3,000 old vehicles from the road.

The banned vans, which are over 10 years old, were pulled from the road by the National Peace and Order (NCPO) in a move to ensure safety for citizens who travel to their hometowns during the New Year’s holiday, said Maj. Gen. Chalermphol Srisawat yesterday.

Chalermphol said the objectives of the crackdown were to ensure safety for passengers, get rid of “van mafia,” and make sure they collect fair fares.

Full Story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2015/12/17/banned-vans-officials-pull-3000-old-public-vans-road

-- Coconuts Bangkok 2015-12-17

What about the 3,000 drivers with a mentality of under 10 years?

The vans aren't the problem, it's the idiots in the right hand seat at the front

Of course if they took the moronic van drivers off the road instead of the vans..........instead they are just going to go and replace them maybe ?

Its just a boon to second hand van sales and thats about it.... wont make the roads any safer with the morons still driving their newer van...

Today i saw a minivan who came onto the mainroad and tried to cut off a big truck with trailer. The truck didn't break for him so they collided into eachother

I'm really tired of those minivans and so are the truckers it seems.

What a crock. Thailand has an annual inspect requirement for vehicles older than 7 years. But of course this annual inspection is a joke from my personal experience in getting my vehicle inspected. It's kinda like the medical checkup/certificate required to get your first Thai drivers license--as long as you are breathing you will get the the medical certificate.

The govt should be cracking down on driver qualifications & training plus thorough annual vehicle inspections....but no, what do they do?....they try to help the vehicle manufacturers/dealers out by forcing the buy of newer vehicles which also generates more sales/excise tax for the govt.

But I expect this ban is only for the upcoming holiday period and then those 3000 vans will be allowed back on the road.

Hmm, they probably mean the vans working officially, with a yellow plate, but nothing about the many thousands working, illegally, with basic plates (not authorised for carrying paying passengers)...

And not to speak about busses, I recently was 'kindly' (not that very) 'invited' on one, instead of a van, between Surrathani airport and Dhonsak, the thing from the dynosaurs age was totally unsafe, with seats hanging on pieces of ironwire, the safety belts cut off, 'inside moisturizing' through dripping aircon vents, a layer of mold everywhere where velvet might have been, the odd part falling off at every bump, rust everywhere, ...and as good as no brakes, worn out tyres, to the cord, a broken gearbox, and thick black smoke outside at every movement on the gaspedal (for a part inside the cabin too...), plus, was the, very, very young, driver having any kind of driving license, or just a member of the family...?

I'm not a religious man, and I hadn't been praying since a domestic flight in Russia, but I did, a lot, over the time it took to race(!) us, by mistake, to the Radja ferry pier, instead of the Seatran one...

Thank you very much, Thai Air Asia! 'Auf nimmer wiedersehen'!

T.i.T., although for sure ...T.A.T. would deny it!

Must agree with some portion of other posters comments, it's not necessarily the vans or the age of the vans, it's the road worthiness of the vehicle and the brain worthiness of the drivers - a very dangerous combination as has been shown over and over again..

So, the vans are just banned during the 10 'dangerous days' then it's business as usual. Crush the damn lot of them, and those big old trucks- bloody death traps, and those shitty little 2 stroke mopeds with enough blue smoke coming out the back-end to choke a whole town, and all those old pickup's with their mushroom cloud of '<deleted!> you, I don't give a sh-t' black smoke blowing in everyone's faces.

But I expect this ban is only for the upcoming holiday period and then those 3000 vans will be allowed back on the road.

That is how I read the story. Pulling vans off the road for New Years safety.

Maybe introduce maximum driving hours and minimum resting times in
between, instead of relaying on Red Bull or M150?

What about having all taxis, vans, buses and lorries fitted with Tachgraphs
as they do in Europe to ensure the safety of ALL road users in Thailand?

And most of all, what about enforcing existing laws in the first place?

Van drivers are the absolute WORST. It's like they have a death wish for themselves and their passengers too.

I would be happy if they at least had vans here! The "buses" between Kamphaeng Phet and Sukhothai, and Kamphaeng Phet and Tak they use these really OLD (15-20 years) pickups with a tin roof and wood benches.

Maybe introduce maximum driving hours and minimum resting times in

between, instead of relaying on Red Bull or M150?

What about having all taxis, vans, buses and lorries fitted with Tachgraphs

as they do in Europe to ensure the safety of ALL road users in Thailand?

And most of all, what about enforcing existing laws in the first place?

Whilst I am not a Mod on this forum, I have to warn you, should you continue to post logical comments, you may be banned from Thailand.

;-)

The govt should be cracking down on driver qualifications

They have actually cracked down on driver's qualifications and are requiring that the license be renewed every 5 years with at least an eye test. When I moved here in 1997 there was a red license available. It was a "lifetime" license. About 12 years ago they did discontinued it.

My BIL occasionally drivers a big overloaded sugar cane truck to the mill. He normally carries 10 - 12 bottles of Red Bull with him. However , the bottles actually contain Lao Khao which he drinks all night while they are loading the truck and then drives to the mill.. His outlook is it doesn't matter whether he drinks or not when it's his time or others that might be killed that's life!

Did you ever notice that the first things that many Thais do when they buy a new motor bike is remove the rear view mirrors!

It's a start. The rest of the vans should at least have rev limiters and GPS tracking devices managed by a government body (if that's possible...)

When the driver/moron exceeds the speed limit or shows a display of speed based upon the GPS device, send the moron an electronic ticket.

It would be much better for public safety if they employed only female drivers. Women tend to have less ego and are not as abusive to the vehicles, like men are.

It's a start. The rest of the vans should at least have rev limiters and GPS tracking devices managed by a government body (if that's possible...)

When the driver/moron exceeds the speed limit or shows a display of speed based upon the GPS device, send the moron an electronic ticket.

It would be much better for public safety if they employed only female drivers. Women tend to have less ego and are not as abusive to the vehicles, like men are.

That's because they can't drive for shit.

It's a start. The rest of the vans should at least have rev limiters and GPS tracking devices managed by a government body (if that's possible...)

When the driver/moron exceeds the speed limit or shows a display of speed based upon the GPS device, send the moron an electronic ticket.

It would be much better for public safety if they employed only female drivers. Women tend to have less ego and are not as abusive to the vehicles, like men are.

That's because they can't drive for shit.

Just goes to show you don't know your arse from your elbow....

Another knee jerk reaction, bloody joke.

Tests for vehicles over 7 years old ha bloody ha!!

I was at a test station a while back, they were testing ( and passed ) an old pickup that did not have a bonnet( hood if you are from USA )

when you see things like that you know that testing here is a joke.

What is wrong with 10 year old?

It can be 30 years old if maintenance and repairs are made proper.

The van mafia! The motorcycle taxi mafia! The airport taxi mafia! What's next? The bicycle rickshaw mafia? The golf cart mafia? The ferry boat mafia? Organised crime is scary in Thailand. A hollywood movie should be made about it. 'The Good Van fellas', 'The Van Father', 'Vanface', 'Donny the Van Brasco', etc.

The van mafia! The motorcycle taxi mafia! The airport taxi mafia! What's next? The bicycle rickshaw mafia? The golf cart mafia? The ferry boat mafia? Organised crime is scary in Thailand. A hollywood movie should be made about it. 'The Good Van fellas', 'The Van Father', 'Vanface', 'Donny the Van Brasco', etc.

I thought they made one already?

And then they put em back on the road when no one was looking, just like the girls on Beach Rd.

And then they put em back on the road when no one was looking, just like the girls on Beach Rd.

Probably, but the move to ban served the purpose as most have already forgotten about it believing the problem in now cured - short term memory syndrome, an endemic disease found throughout Thailand.

Why not require limiters to be fitted to all vans with max speed 100 kph? Slow them down to cut the carnage.

What about the 3,000 drivers with a mentality of under 10 years?

That is an insult to children

What about the 3,000 drivers with a mentality of under 10 years?

They are allowed to continue to practice driving in new and faster vans

I don't blame the van drivers, I blame the lawlessness on the roads on Thai society. Laws aren't enforced on the roads because the police don't have the training, the equipment or the inclination. So driving in Thailand is the most dangerous place in the world and it's going to stay that way. Pulling 3000 vans of the road is spitting into the wind.

Don't you love when you're driving a scoot in a line of traffic and a idiot driver rides up on you and almost takes you out to get 10 feet closer to the car in front of him, for no advantage. That's my favorite.

Today i saw a minivan who came onto the mainroad and tried to cut off a big truck with trailer. The truck didn't break for him so they collided into eachother

I'm really tired of those minivans and so are the truckers it seems.

Nope. You saw a smart trucker. Sometimes its best to have the collision than to brake hard and jack knife losing control and killing innocent parties. If someone has to suffer damage. let it be the dumbass.

The van mafia! The motorcycle taxi mafia! The airport taxi mafia! What's next? The bicycle rickshaw mafia? The golf cart mafia? The ferry boat mafia? Organised crime is scary in Thailand. A hollywood movie should be made about it. 'The Good Van fellas', 'The Van Father', 'Vanface', 'Donny the Van Brasco', etc.

The bicycle rickshaw maffia is at the big market next to Nonthaburi pier. There are many of them and they all park in front of the market. Those things are very slow and cause a lot of congestion in that very busy neighbourhood.

The golfcart maffia is in the farang-moobaan next to chaeng wattana. There are several parkinglots reserved for them on the ground floor. They drive golfcarts their out of the moobaan into the parkinggarage to shop in central chaeng wattana.

Ferryboat maffia i haven't seen yet but the sightseeing longtailboat maffia is close to the grand palace. They have a scout opening taxidoors of visitors to the palace and tell them the palace is closed, then they offer them "cheap" longtailboats for extorted prices.