seancbk Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 13 hours ago, selftaopath said: Can you tell me/us what the starting salary of a policeman/woman is? How about advancement e.g. time in service/promotion etc.? What might be their educational background etc. in relation to a factory workers salary? I often hear a/b low salaries of police/teachers but would LOVE to see the facts. entry level salaries for police with no university education was 6,800 baht (2012). In June 2015, the Bangkok Post reported that, "Thai police officers are paid around 14,760 baht per month (6,800–8,340 baht for entry level) and have to buy their own guns and even office supplies." He posits that one reason salaries are so low is that the sheer number of officers is staggering, roughly 250,000. This means that an increase of 5,000 baht in every cop's monthly salary would cost the government a politically untenable 15 billion baht annually. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Thai_Police Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metisdead Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 A post in violation of fair use policy has been removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve187 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 13 hours ago, Wilsonandson said: I thought the fire killed the passengers not the crash. After a couple of days after the tragic crash have the authorities found out what caused the fire? LPG or NGV gas bottles exploding? Shouldn't that be looked into first before banning vans? I also thought that people sitting in the back of pickup trucks was a dangerous way to travel. What are they going to do about that? no ban the vans, they are the cause, bring back the slow big buses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doremifasol Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 6 hours ago, LivinLOS said: So how do you tell them apart from the rest ?? What rest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee4Life Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 (edited) 12 hours ago, maoro2013 said: What is the logic behind reducing the number of vans? I don't think that is the answer, maybe cutting them totally would work, but reducing!! You are correct in that the logic behind reducing the number of vans on the road is flawed, if in fact the driver was on his umpteenth 500 km trip in only a couple of days then if their were less vans on the road that would mean more overworked drivers in the remaining vans. It is more likely that an "hours of service" rule that limited how many hours commercial drivers could drive in a 24 hour period would help, of course that would also depend upon enforcement. Edited January 4, 2017 by Lee4Life grammar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeCross Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, seancbk said: entry level salaries for police with no university education was 6,800 baht (2012). In June 2015, the Bangkok Post reported that, "Thai police officers are paid around 14,760 baht per month (6,800–8,340 baht for entry level) and have to buy their own guns and even office supplies." He posits that one reason salaries are so low is that the sheer number of officers is staggering, roughly 250,000. This means that an increase of 5,000 baht in every cop's monthly salary would cost the government a politically untenable 15 billion baht annually. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Thai_Police and yet 895bn baht for a new train set or two is not a problem Edited January 4, 2017 by GeorgeCross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seancbk Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 3 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said: and yet 895bn baht for a new train set or two is not a problem The State railway of Thailand recently spent 176 Billion Baht on 115 new train cars. That might be more than the budget for a Police salary increase but it's certainly not 895 Billion that you mention. Bear in mind also any increase in Police salaries isn't a one off expenditure like buying new trains, it is an ongoing cost that will only increase year on year as salaries rise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seancbk Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 2 hours ago, steve187 said: no ban the vans, they are the cause, bring back the slow big buses How do you propose to deal with the 10 hour trips that the vans do now? Make passengers spend 16-20 hours on a slower bus? Make the buses stop and everyone check into a motel to break up the trip? Even with 2 drivers in each van to combat driver tiredness, the active driver still needs to go fast just to make the journey in a reasonable amount of time (talking of the 10 hour trips). The problem is this country is too large for many of the road trips that people want to do in one stretch, that and drivers are poor and need to do as many trips as they can to make decent money. Perhaps they should start building travelodge type hotels all over Thailand and force at people to pull over and check in for a sleep before continuing their journey. That could actually be a pretty good business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeCross Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 12 minutes ago, seancbk said: The State railway of Thailand recently spent 176 Billion Baht on 115 new train cars. That might be more than the budget for a Police salary increase but it's certainly not 895 Billion that you mention. Bear in mind also any increase in Police salaries isn't a one off expenditure like buying new trains, it is an ongoing cost that will only increase year on year as salaries rise. 895bn is how much the gov has just announced it is releasing to spend on infrastructure projects this year alone. they have the money they are just not willing to spend it on the RTP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seancbk Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Just now, GeorgeCross said: 895bn is how much the gov has just announced it is releasing to spend on infrastructure projects this year alone. they have the money they are just not willing to spend it on the RTP Fair enough, although you do realise infrastructure projects stimulate the economy and provide improvements to (most of) the country. They are also not ongoing expenses. The RTP have had salary increases and will no doubt continue to get them. Seeing as we don't know what the ruling Governments plans are vis a vis reform of the RTP we can't really say why they are not spending. Perhaps there is a plan to do something but they feel infrastructure is more important. Don't forget also that these large projects often takes years to plan. For the most part the RTP are pretty good. This recent accident has nothing to do with how much the RTP get paid, it's more about this country is still very much a developing country with large numbers of people being paid low wages and having to do things to make money that we would never accept in the West. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil B Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Am I not right in thinking these vans are private hire or shared hire with the driver picking up at hotel, place of stay, airport, etc and dropping off hotel, place of stay, airport, etc. A bus or train is not going to do that. The only way to limmit them is to licence them and control the hours worked by the drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selftaopath Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 17 hours ago, whatproblem said: The only way something productive will be done is if the transport minister has to sit in the mini buses everyday for a month and without escorts and not selectively picking the driver ,which will not happen I'd like to see them take your and other tv members suggestions, however nothing will be done because Thais and Thailand don't want change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezrider62 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 23 hours ago, watcharacters said: First of all the problem's not the number of vans, It's how the idiots DRIVE! Correct! You never know who you will get. Some drivers are OK, but many are very scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damrongsak Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Many years ago I traveled on a very nice, new Mercedes bus in Mexico. Maybe Morelia to Guadalajara. Had a speed warning for anything over about 55 MPH (and they told us about that) , a stewardess, drinks in the back, CCTV with first-rate movies in English (though most everyone was Mexican). Doesn't prevent crashes caused by the other guy, but a step in the right direction. Out in the boonies in Isaan, I used to see the graveyards of "orange crush" buses in the impound lots near local police outposts. Sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 9 hours ago, doremifasol said: What rest? The rest of the drivers who look move and sound like maniacs.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanLaew Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 19 hours ago, thaikahuna said: Drivers must be mandated to follow certain strict DOT transport driver guidelines. Follow what now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanLaew Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 7 hours ago, Basil B said: Am I not right in thinking these vans are private hire or shared hire with the driver picking up at hotel, place of stay, airport, etc and dropping off hotel, place of stay, airport, etc. A bus or train is not going to do that. The only way to limmit them is to licence them and control the hours worked by the drivers. In the wake of the 'horrific crash' in question, Thai media already broadcast the information that the driver had made 5 round-trips in about 31 hours. So someone was already keeping a log book no? Every time I make a cross-country trip, I see more truck weigh stations. Thus the 'infrastructure' is already in place for checking on minivans. Change the signage from "All truck must enter weight station" to include all minivans. That should keep the DoT weigh station guys busy... and the cops can carry on sleeping or cadging for cash from 'speeders'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LennyW Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 2 minutes ago, NanLaew said: In the wake of the 'horrific crash' in question, Thai media already broadcast the information that the driver had made 5 round-trips in about 31 hours. So someone was already keeping a log book no? Every time I make a cross-country trip, I see more truck weigh stations. Thus the 'infrastructure' is already in place for checking on minivans. Change the signage from "All truck must enter weight station" to include all minivans. That should keep the DoT weigh station guys busy... and the cops can carry on sleeping or cadging for cash from 'speeders'. That was what i was thinking yesterday, then i thought they would quickly find a detour around the stations so just another waste of time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seancbk Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Quite a few years ago in Hong Kong they fitted speed displays in all Public Mini Buses so that passengers could see if the driver was speeding and report them. It might help here, although as I've previously mentioned on long trips the passengers themselves want the driver to go fast so the journey doesn't take so long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selftaopath Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 22 hours ago, spidermike007 said: This will not happen. And the question is why it will not happen. And the answer is complete and total apathy on the part of the government, and the police. Nobody cares. Sure, they jabber alot after some horrific accidents. But, will they do anything? Do they ever do anything? No. They are not serious about this problem, at all. More jawboning, from the master himself. If he was serious about protecting his people, he would have done it from day one. The RTP are not interested in traffic safety, and the government has no interest in public safety. And the carnage continues, and Thailand continues it's place as number two in the world (after war torn Libya) for road deaths per capita. At least they are number two in something! There are a hundred things that could be done to protect the people, and prevent more accidents. Start with law enforcement, and the enforcing of laws that are already on the books. Serious fines for speeding, impounding of vehicles, with serious fines for drunk driving, long prison terms for manslaughter, caused by drivers who carelessly mow people down, regardless of how influential or connected, or wealthy they are. Incease the penalties severely for fleeing the scene of an accident. I do not think there is currently any penalty for that. And how about a really novel idea? Have the highway police actually patrol the highway, instead of playing cards in the office. The only time I ever see them is after an accident. There is a concept known as a deterrent, which is virtually unknown in this country. You make obnoxious behavior, dangerous behavior, and careless driving on the highways punishable, and people will think twice about doing it. Every single time I am on the highways I see people doing things they would never even consider doing in California, as the consequences are simply too high. Here they know they can get away with almost anything. They know Little P. and the highway police are not serious people. I totally agree with you SM. Thanks. Wish "authorities" could own this. I'd love to ask them a/b karma. The other day in our little Isaan village a husband and wife were killed; leaving behind children. The guy operating the motorbike decided to pass a car.... apparently w/out looking to see if it was safe to do so. Yep head on into an oncoming van. They were in their 30's. So unnecessary and such a waste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connda Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Try enforcing existing traffic laws, like defective equipment. Thailand won't change. There simple is no will to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve187 Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 22 hours ago, seancbk said: How do you propose to deal with the 10 hour trips that the vans do now? Make passengers spend 16-20 hours on a slower bus? Make the buses stop and everyone check into a motel to break up the trip? Even with 2 drivers in each van to combat driver tiredness, the active driver still needs to go fast just to make the journey in a reasonable amount of time (talking of the 10 hour trips). The problem is this country is too large for many of the road trips that people want to do in one stretch, that and drivers are poor and need to do as many trips as they can to make decent money. Perhaps they should start building travelodge type hotels all over Thailand and force at people to pull over and check in for a sleep before continuing their journey. That could actually be a pretty good business. the big buses already do the long trips, Rayong to bangkok via kilosip and airport, Rayong to Trat used to be a big bus , now flying coffins, who in there right mind would replace 1 x 56 seater with 5 or 6 minibuses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seancbk Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 1 hour ago, steve187 said: the big buses already do the long trips, Rayong to bangkok via kilosip and airport, Rayong to Trat used to be a big bus , now flying coffins, who in there right mind would replace 1 x 56 seater with 5 or 6 minibuses I don't doubt it. My question is this, if it takes 10 hours by fast mini van to get from Bangkok to the Laos border at Nong Khai, then how much longer would it take by big bus? All I'm saying is most people doing long trips want the journey to take as little time as possible. 10 hours is a nightmare, can you imagine if it took 30% more time each way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkerry Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 2 minutes ago, seancbk said: All I'm saying is most people doing long trips want the journey to take as little time as possible. 10 hours is a nightmare, can you imagine if it took 30% more time each way? Always better to arrive late than dead on time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selftaopath Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 On 1/4/2017 at 10:20 PM, seancbk said: The State railway of Thailand recently spent 176 Billion Baht on 115 new train cars. That might be more than the budget for a Police salary increase but it's certainly not 895 Billion that you mention. Bear in mind also any increase in Police salaries isn't a one off expenditure like buying new trains, it is an ongoing cost that will only increase year on year as salaries rise. How many bloody police are needed? There's a new police station in our village, but I never see police. Where are they? What do they do? Is being a cop like being on welfare with benefits to steal? Seems like police are more like organized crime than law enforcement. lol Law enforcement in Thailand? lol lol Yea right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ace Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 On 04/01/2017 at 5:00 PM, Basil B said: Am I not right in thinking these vans are private hire or shared hire with the driver picking up at hotel, place of stay, airport, etc and dropping off hotel, place of stay, airport, etc. A bus or train is not going to do that. The only way to limmit them is to licence them and control the hours worked by the drivers. Some are. Most (like this one) travel a set route, Rayong - Bangkok for example, and have a number, route printed on the side. The routes are "owned" by some group, drivers pay to drive the routes, just like moto taxis, just like every f-in thing in Thailand,. QED drivers have to hit long hours to make a few baht, QED drive like maniacs, QED people die, but someone somewhere gets a nice new Benz for their spoilt brat of a kid welcome to Thailand /rant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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