Ministry of Transport responds to tragic van crash

[Somtamnication]

Silly people. Everyone knows that installing a GPS in a van slows their driving by 100%!

[dominique355]

1 hour ago, fruitman said:

 

They sit in tents right next to the roads...only problem is they never come out, even not during cool temperatures. But why should they come out? They get paid anyway......

 

They were transferred to an inactive post.

 

[jonw8uk]

A few years ago i worked on a job in qatar. Every project vehicle had a gps linked monitoring system. 

To drive the vehicles we had to do (and pass) a defensive driving course, after which we were issued a coded key. 

From the gps the system knew the speed limit wherever you were, so a warning sounded if the vehicle went too fast. (Obviously if it was ignored we would receive a warning if still ignored then lose driving privileges, if serious enough; sent home)

not only speed is monitored; seatbelts, cornering force, acceleration and braking is also measured to show the manner in which you drive. 

Everyone hated the system, but it worked, no way to beat it. 

Being that education wont work here, they need something like this.  The drivers need to be forced to comply. 

 

Expensive to install for sure, but without doubt it would save lives. 

 

Not gonna happen though is it?

 

 

[NCC1701A]

8 minutes ago, JAFO said:

I have a question to the posters in these Thailand accident threads, do you all go on and on like this with cynical one-liners about the tragic deaths in your home countries as well or does Thailand get your exclusive comments on how terrible it is here? 

 

Sadly and tragically automobile deaths happen every day everywhere in the world due to either poor drivers or drunks(especially around this time of year). The US has these types of senseless deaths even with steep fines, jail time etc. It is extremely difficult to police. I used to be a volunteer fireman/EMS and would see wrecks like these and I always wondered how but you add alcohol and those individuals better judgment got worse and worse with every sip.  

I'm am American. Are you really comparing the USA to Thailand?

more cars pass through the 405 and 10 interchange in West Los Angeles every day without incident than there are in all of Bangkok.

 

Thailand has a totally corrupt do nothing police force.

You try driving 20 MPH over the limit in the USA and see what happens to you.

If you drink you get pulled over and arrested.

Try bribing a LAPD cop for a traffic stop and see what happens.

The differences are so vast on every level there is no point in listing them all.

 

[Bobobirdiebuddy]

Ir's too damn late.  It's always too damn late here.  Wring those hands, make sad pronouncements, promise to get tougher. - BALONEY - nothing ever changes because there is no sense of responsibility by many Thai drivers and many companies that employ these terrible drivers.

[kkerry]

The reason given for the increased road toll this year according to one official I saw... there is more traffic this year than last...

 

I was driving in country Victoria, Australia one day earlier this year. I saw police cars waiting at the side of the road to nab speeding motorists four times. Saw three different cars get pulled over and got overtaken myself with all lights flashing by an unmarked patrol car in pursuit of a truck that looked overloaded. All in just a couple of hours. Probably more times than you would see happen in Thailand in a year. They really need to get more patrol cars on the road instead of sitting in tents at the side of the road sipping coffee because whatever they're doing now just isn't working. 

[elgordo38]

1 hour ago, Kasset Tak said:

I went a "short" trip (120 km) by van here up-country today and before I got off they had managed to squeeze 20 passengers inside.... That's 7 more than the 13 passenger seats that they usually have!

BTW. I don't know how many police checkpoints we passed but I would guess about 10 and we were never stopped, the only one I could see them stop were motorcycle drivers without helmets and pickups with clear overload.

Selective policing at its worst. Its obvious the police are not the solution but part of the problem. Pull em over shake em up and thus the problem ends. 

[SaintLouisBlues]

Just now, elgordo38 said:

Pull em over shake em up and thus the problem ends. 

You mean "shake em down" surely?

[elgordo38]

1 minute ago, SaintLouisBlues said:

You mean "shake em down" surely?

My mistake sorry. I went back onsite to fast after my break. I must reset my mindset better I guess. 

[farcanell]

1 hour ago, daveAustin said:

Won't do much. I don't know why the ministry of transport bothers saying anything.

 

And I'm wondering why they bother having a ministry for transport, at all.

[Lupatria]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The incident has also prompted the Ministry of Transport to order an inspection of every public transport vehicle before departure and for strict watch over the driving behavior of operators. 

Wouldn't it be more efficient to check the drivers mental health and driving skills before they start a U-turn on a one-way highway?

[farcanell]

50 minutes ago, JAFO said:

I have a question to the posters in these Thailand accident threads, do you all go on and on like this with cynical one-liners about the tragic deaths in your home countries as well or does Thailand get your exclusive comments on how terrible it is here? 

 

 

Thaivisa, right?

 

not USVisa or Australvisa.... what do you expect?

[Jimbo2014]

2 hours ago, clockman said:

Sack the transport minister and transport police officer. Start at the top! The only way to change things in Thailand.

 

More likely they will all just get new desks.... whatever that means :D

[eggers]

Pathetic response.... What is a GPS tracker going to do to prevent this carnage??? ZERO!!

The whole Van Bus industry needs strict laws & rule by which vehicles can be operated (limit passengers, max. driver hours &  speed limiters) & Police must enforce the rules & laws . 

PM needs to invoke Clause/Section 44, to force Police & Gov't depts. to act to reduce road toll, not just a show of police & lip service by relevant depts, but enforcement of Laws as supposed to do. 

 

 

[JAFO]

25 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

I'm am American. Are you really comparing the USA to Thailand?

more cars pass through the 405 and 10 interchange in West Los Angeles every day without incident than there are in all of Bangkok.

 

Thailand has a totally corrupt do nothing police force.

You try driving 20 MPH over the limit in the USA and see what happens to you.

If you drink you get pulled over and arrested.

Try bribing a LAPD cop for a traffic stop and see what happens.

The differences are so vast on every level there is no point in listing them all.

 

 

Not comparing at all. Just saying these type of wrecks happen in the US as well. People come on here with their diatribe, silly one liners and blame the PM for these wrecks and deaths. That would be like blaming our President for them. Sadly people are going to drink and drive. Don't tell me they do not in the US, we both KNOW better. Just look at the arrests and wrecks and deaths every year in California alone for the "Avoid the 13". I have watched as we pryed out families of 5 that wrecked because of a drunk driver or lost control for whatever reason.

 

My question was; do the same posters here criticize the same sad senseless events in their home country or is this just a good ol past time in Thailand? Do they blame their governor, congressman. I think not because most do not care, never see it so out of sight out of mind. 

 

BTW, I am not supporting any drunk driver in any country and I am also not supporting what happens here either, there are always room for safety and awareness improvements, I just find it really odd the behavior of posters.

 

 

[Golden Triangle]

I do know that in the UK and Europe coaches are limited to 100 kph, IIRC drivers are not allowed to drive for more than 4.5 hrs before having a mandatory rest break, 45 mins I think and HGV's are also limited in their speed but rest breaks are the same as above.

 

If any of the info on here is slightly out I apologise, it's been a while since I last drove big vehicles but I'm sure someone will rectify any mistakes.

 

I don't know the rules for places like Aus, NZ, USA etc but it shouldn't be and mustn't be a barrier to the government of Thailand pulling the entire transport industry dragging and screaming into the 21st century. 

[nigelnigel]

A better response by the ministry (and indeed a more accurate one) would be...."5555+  you really think we will care? We haven't cared for decades!"

[Golden Triangle]

5 minutes ago, JAFO said:

BTW, I am not supporting any drunk driver in any country and I am also not supporting what happens here either, there are always room for safety and awareness improvements, I just find it really odd the behavior of posters.

 

I think the reason people get so upset is the fact that these incidents are expected, no matter how long you have lived here it never gets any better.

 

There was an incident with a coach just recently in the UK (My home country) The coach tipped on it's side in thick fog whilst leaving a motorway, 17 people were slightly hurt, Now the driver wasn't drunk, on drugs, he was sufficiently rested and fit to do his job, and all the passengers were wearing seat belts.

 

Yes accidents do happen, unfortunately over here all the aforementioned gets thrown out the window as they are usually too tired to drive, too drunk to drive or too high to drive, plus of course their total disregard to other road users and their passengers.

 

To be honest I don't think as group we are being too harsh at all.

[fruitman]

4 hours ago, jonw8uk said:

A few years ago i worked on a job in qatar. Every project vehicle had a gps linked monitoring system. 

To drive the vehicles we had to do (and pass) a defensive driving course, after which we were issued a coded key. 

From the gps the system knew the speed limit wherever you were, so a warning sounded if the vehicle went too fast. (Obviously if it was ignored we would receive a warning if still ignored then lose driving privileges, if serious enough; sent home)

not only speed is monitored; seatbelts, cornering force, acceleration and braking is also measured to show the manner in which you drive. 

Everyone hated the system, but it worked, no way to beat it. 

Being that education wont work here, they need something like this.  The drivers need to be forced to comply. 

 

Expensive to install for sure, but without doubt it would save lives. 

 

Not gonna happen though is it?

 

 

 

It's the same in Europe..ALL the big trucks have a clock connected to a printer which prints the speed/resting time on a round card. The police can check those cards anytime and if they see a trucker who didn't rest enough or drove too fast he can easy loose his driverslicense on the spot.

 

Also the trucks and coaches have a speed limiter, they can go faster than 88 km/hr but 80 is the limit for them. In Thailand i see convoys of buses full of chinese who even get police escort to drive 130 km/hr on the highways.

 

 

[yasorab]

Do you honestly believe the Thai government will go to the expense of fitting GPS and tachographs to psv and heavy vehicles ? Not only but also , who would police and maintain them ? Nobody !!!!

Sent from my SM-J120H using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[Andrew Dwyer]

56 minutes ago, SaintLouisBlues said:

You mean "shake em down" surely?

Shake em up, shake em down then shake em sideways !!

[nisakiman]

2 hours ago, namoi said:

log books don`t mean much unless the inspectors pull the bus apart to find the 2nd log book and the hidden goee, the log book thing is so easy to bypass

 

This is very true. In the '70s I drove semi-trailers interstate in Australia, and we had log books back then. They were so easy to fiddle that they really served no purpose at all. All the Interstate drivers used to drive far in excess of the legally permitted hours (except perhaps the Ansett drivers, who were paid a salary rather than trip money), because most of us were paid for the miles we made. More miles, more money.

 

I don't know why they don't make tachographs mandatory in these minivans. They are much more difficult to tamper with, and provide a record of hours driven and the speed of the vehicle at all times. Those installed in the van, combined with heavy fines for infractions would go some way to mitigating the carnage these vehicles cause. Establish regular checkpoints on the road where the disc from the tachograph can be inspected (no point having them if nobody ever checks them) and I think we might see an improvement in standards. And it's a relatively low cost exercise, too.

[elliss]

2 hours ago, AGareth2 said:

what a tragic accident

 

       Soon  to be  forgotten  in  LOS,   same  as  the  Tsunami .

                Thai  culture .

      

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, NCC1701A said:

I'm am American. Are you really comparing the USA to Thailand?

more cars pass through the 405 and 10 interchange in West Los Angeles every day without incident than there are in all of Bangkok.

 

Thailand has a totally corrupt do nothing police force.

You try driving 20 MPH over the limit in the USA and see what happens to you.

If you drink you get pulled over and arrested.

Try bribing a LAPD cop for a traffic stop and see what happens.

The differences are so vast on every level there is no point in listing them all.

 

One of the problems is that while these people are being killed (not only at this time of year and Songkran) the police are out watching for motorcyclists riding harmlessly on a road on which they are not allowed, (I'm referring to bikes over 250cc) so that they can get their tea money.

[MichaelJohn]

A terrible, sad, meaningless waste of life.

I guess most citizens of Thailand wont be surprised when the outcome of the investigation cast some doubt over the driving style/attitude of the driver.

I wonder if any of the passengers in the van had the courage to speak up; ask him to slow down or be more careful?

The unfortunate culture in Thailand to not speak out when something is clearly wrong results in individuals getting away with murder; literally in this case.

I wonder what would be the outcome if someone had had the courage to stand up and voice their safety concerns; 25 more people to enjoy 2017 perhaps.

 

[Sydebolle]

Maybe I am an old fart but I have not seen the relevance between a GPS tracker and this accident.

Yet another incompetent answer of a governmental super dooper!

On top of it I would bet that not 5% of the vans have such trackers as the only person interested in these trackers might be the operator to see, where Somchai is roaming around 

[brewsterbudgen]

There is little point in comparing Thailand to countries with more developed infrastructure and better driving habits. Thailand has developed rapidly in the last few decades with faster roads and faster vehicles (made more affordable by the government), yet the driving standards and attitudes towards road safety remain mired in the undeveloped world.

Continuous bleating about the problem (particularly by westerners) isn't going to change anything. Accidents like this, the constantly rising death toll and, most importantly, political action and enforced laws will eventually raise standards and lower death rates. But it will take decades.

In the meantime expats have to accept the risks of living (and driving) here. Moaning about it doesn't help.

[rott]

1 hour ago, JAFO said:

 

Not comparing at all. Just saying these type of wrecks happen in the US as well. People come on here with their diatribe, silly one liners and blame the PM for these wrecks and deaths. That would be like blaming our President for them. Sadly people are going to drink and drive. Don't tell me they do not in the US, we both KNOW better. Just look at the arrests and wrecks and deaths every year in California alone for the "Avoid the 13". I have watched as we pryed out families of 5 that wrecked because of a drunk driver or lost control for whatever reason.

 

My question was; do the same posters here criticize the same sad senseless events in their home country or is this just a good ol past time in Thailand? Do they blame their governor, congressman. I think not because most do not care, never see it so out of sight out of mind. 

 

BTW, I am not supporting any drunk driver in any country and I am also not supporting what happens here either, there are always room for safety and awareness improvements, I just find it really odd the behavior of posters.

 

 

The point people are making (and you are ignoring) is that there is very little serious law enforcement here and very little regard for the law, particularly the traffic laws. How many seriously overloaded public transport vehicles are unfit for service and continually ignoring the speed limits where you come from??

[rjwill01]

When are passengers going to wake up and tell their driver to slow down and stop driving like a maniac. Not one, I'm talking about every passenger in that van. It may save your life. Remember the statement from years ago, " We're not going to take it". It;s time to bring that thought back. Let's start helping each other stay alive from senseless antics. 

[brewsterbudgen]

The point people are making (and you are ignoring) is that there is very little serious law enforcement here and very little regard for the law, particularly the traffic laws. How many seriously overloaded public transport vehicles are unfit for service and continually ignoring the speed limits where you come from??

The point I made is that Thailand has far less developed safety standards and driving education, yet people drive advanced vehicles on fast roads. More accidents and more deaths are inevitable. Why would anyone expect anything different?