Transport Ministry wants to phase out passenger vans in six months

[webfact]

Transport Ministry wants to phase out passenger vans in six months

 

 

BANGKOK: -- All the existing passenger vans operating from Bangkok to upcountry provinces must be phased out in six months and replaced with 20-seat micro buses, said Mr Chidchai Sanansrisakorn, deputy director-general of Land Transport Department, on Thursday.

 

He said Deputy Transport Minister Pichit Akarathit had wanted the Land Transport Department to move forward the timetable to phase out all passenger vans to six months from now instead of between 2019-2021.

 

The minister’s phase-out plan is divided into two stages with the first stage for some 5,000 passenger vans operating between Bangkok and upcountry provinces to be phased out and replaced with 20-seat micro buses.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/transport-ministry-wants-phase-passenger-vans-six-months/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2017-01-06

[Fookhaht]

And the same kamikaze drivers will move over to THOSE larger weapons of destruction?

Would someone please explain what is the magic pill in adding five more seats?

The drivers and their habits are the elephant in the room that the Transport Ministry seems to be totally blind about.

Every government announcement dealing with this crisis pushes the "ridiculous meter" up to another incredibly higher notch. It's like the gov't "experts" are in a hermetically-sealed bubble that cannot be penetrated by logic.


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[guzzi850m2]

I am not sure why he want to do that?

 

It will be extremely expensive to do on such short notice, how about those who just bought new vans and who to sell it to for a good price? 

 

I like the idea of a 90km/h speed limit for those things but I seen big +50 seater buses drive much faster than that, full of passengers off-course, so a limiter have to be fitted on the engine with a seal, so the bus can't go more that that, otherwise it wont work.

 

Yes much better training for the drivers is needed.

[robblok]

13 minutes ago, Fookhaht said:

And the same kamikaze drivers will move over to THOSE larger weapons of destruction?

Would someone please explain what is the magic pill in adding five more seats?

The drivers and their habits are the elephant in the room that the Transport Ministry seems to be totally blind about.


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Unless those new buses get a good tracking system and are checked regularly for maintenance then there is absolutely no improvement. I think a lot of minivan owners will be hard hit. (can't really be sorry for them as they employ the dangerous drivers)

[cooked]

Is this going to happen at the same time as double decker buses are taken off the roads, as was announced about three years ago?

[ignis]

Far cheaper would fit all Public Service Vans/Pickup/Bus with a tachometer 

Then have Inspectors stopping and checking them, as they have done for years in Europe.. Some Companies checked these all the time to see what there drivers were driving like..

 

Another thing in Europe also years ago was PSV and HGV had governors fitted on the engine, you just could not drive at 140 kph +

[Nielsk]

Sorry to be negative, but I am afraid that it will simply lead to more deaths and injuries when an accident happens.

In total, 3,919 accidents occurred between Dec 29 and Jan 4, killing 478 and injuring 4,128 people. Most of the accidents (36.6%) were caused by drink driving, followed by speeding (31.31%). Most, or 81.82%,...

 

 

 

[cmsally]

I am trying to remember who has the franchise/contract for the microbuses. Can someone jog my memory.

[Sphere]

28 minutes ago, webfact said:

phase out passenger vans in six months

 

Is the magical 6-month deadline back in fashion?

[samsensam]

 

there is a blatant refusal to acknowledge the root causes of the large number of RTAs is puzzling. do the MOT really not understand the problem? or is the amount of work required to solve the problem too much like hard work?

 

even more puzzling, given the huge number of people in the country who must have been affected by the madness on the roads, is the lack of any campaign, protest or demands from the people, the newspapers, the media that the government do something.

 

is it laziness, ignorance, cultural reluctance to accepting responsibility or make decisions, religious belief in reincarnation that means death is not the end...? i guess you have to be thai to understand.

 

it is a great sadness that hangs over the country and is ignored by the country.

[worgeordie]

Instead of  trying to actually solve the problem,they are having a knee jerk reaction,

it's the drivers,stupid.

regards worgeordie

[daveAustin]

Would be better off and cheaper phasing out the minivan companies and their drivers in 6 days and employing a bunch of monkeys to drive the things... oh wait!

[MrJohnson]

Yet another ill-conceived, impractical and inadequate response to this complex problem. It is the guys behind the wheel who are the problem, not the type of vehicle they are driving. What is required includes the following;

 

Better educated drivers

More visible policing

stronger law enforcement - speeding, drink driving, dangerous driving

better vehicle inspections

and more

 

The only people who will benefit from this new proposal will be those dipping into the procurement process. 

[KarenBravo]

Don't forget, this is a country where appearance is far more important than actual reality.

This is just the normal political BS for local consumption and will be forgotten well before the six months are up.

 

If they go ahead and do this, why only Bangkok? Why not the minivans from Phuket, Koh Samui, Chang Mai etc?

[owenm]

Instead have all minibuses speed limited to 90kph, all with GPS and make compulsory use of seat belts. 

Driver hours per 24 hours need to be limited and enforced to prevent driver fatigue.. Better training.. 

Micro buses aren't the answer. Same idiots behind the wheel, and higher carnage.. 

 

[Thailand]

31 minutes ago, MrJohnson said:

Yet another ill-conceived, impractical and inadequate response to this complex problem. It is the guys behind the wheel who are the problem, not the type of vehicle they are driving. What is required includes the following;

 

Better educated drivers

More visible policing

stronger law enforcement - speeding, drink driving, dangerous driving

better vehicle inspections

and more

 

The only people who will benefit from this new proposal will be those dipping into the procurement process. 

Admirable.

 

But logic is hardly the route to go.

[NanLaew]

54 minutes ago, guzzi850m2 said:

It will be extremely expensive to do on such short notice, how about those who just bought new vans and who to sell it to for a good price? 

 

There's actually a long waiting list for minivans which has led to a high demand for 'recycled' ex- BMTA ones well past their sell-by date. I pity the visa run companies that invested in a few new ones several years ago and were cut down by the new visa regulations so then they went into the private, unregulated provincial minibus business only to be cut down again.

 

Then again, no. I don't pity them at all.

[fruitman]

39 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Instead of  trying to actually solve the problem,they are having a knee jerk reaction,

it's the drivers,stupid.

regards worgeordie

 

Nope, it's the police who doesn't dare to reprimand those bad selfish drivers.

[lee68]

It will never happen, simple. 

[kartman]

Obviously Chidchai has not consulted Toyota who does he think runs road transport strategy in Thailand his dept ?

[KarenBravo]

I notice that the words "better training" being used a lot.

In Thailand, training is only effective when applied to a totally new task that Thais are unfamiliar with.

Sending drivers for training on how to drive (safely) is a waste of time. ALL drivers consider themselves excellent drivers already.

They will attend the classes, pretend to learn and then go out and drive exactly the same. Being "told" how to drive is a massive loss of face to the individual.

 

The problem isn't just with the drivers, it's the owners who want to make the maximum amount of profit and they do this by encouraging a driver to drive as fast as they can.

To these drivers and owners, the best drivers are the fastest as these are the drivers that put the most money in the owner's pocket.

If a driver drives slower for safety, that driver will be replaced by the owner for someone who will drive fast and maximise profit.

Don't forget, accidents are not caused by bad driving, or, adverse conditions, but by fate and karma.

[ChakaKhan]

I just wish there was ONE willing thai to join these forums and

at least TRY to give a reasonable explanation--could use any

name etc..JUST admit to being thai and try to explain this

 

I just cant process this in my mind--there MUST be some TV

folk here married to thais--what do they say?...or too busy

watching wonderful lakorn soap operas.....mai,,,kao,,jai 

[d123]

Transport Ministry wants to phase out passenger vans in six months

 

and I want a new Ferrari

[cmsally]

6 minutes ago, ChakaKhan said:

I just wish there was ONE willing thai to join these forums and

at least TRY to give a reasonable explanation--could use any

name etc..JUST admit to being thai and try to explain this

 

I just cant process this in my mind--there MUST be some TV

folk here married to thais--what do they say?...or too busy

watching wonderful lakorn soap operas.....mai,,,kao,,jai 

 

I'm married to a Thai , so you might  just want to look at my previous post for a likely explanation.

[thaibeachlovers]

13 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

I notice that the words "better training" being used a lot.

In Thailand, training is only effective when applied to a totally new task that Thais are unfamiliar with.

Sending drivers for training on how to drive (safely) is a waste of time. ALL drivers consider themselves excellent drivers already.

They will attend the classes, pretend to learn and then go out and drive exactly the same. Being "told" how to drive is a massive loss of face to the individual.

 

The problem isn't just with the drivers, it's the owners who want to make the maximum amount of profit and they do this by encouraging a driver to drive as fast as they can.

To these drivers and owners, the best drivers are the fastest as these are the drivers that put the most money in the owner's pocket.

If a driver drives slower for safety, that driver will be replaced by the owner for someone who will drive fast and maximise profit.

Don't forget, accidents are not caused by bad driving, or, adverse conditions, but by fate and karma.

it's the owners who want to make the maximum amount of profit

 

To see that in action, just look how fast those delivery vans with the high back go, I've never seen one going at a reasonable speed.

[The Old Bull]

6 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

it's the owners who want to make the maximum amount of profit

 

To see that in action, just look how fast those delivery vans with the high back go, I've never seen one going at a reasonable speed.

Yes, I think this sums it up best and also counts for overloading of vans.

[NanLaew]

12 minutes ago, ChakaKhan said:

I just wish there was ONE willing thai to join these forums and

at least TRY to give a reasonable explanation--could use any

name etc..JUST admit to being thai and try to explain this

 

I just cant process this in my mind--there MUST be some TV

folk here married to thais--what do they say?...or too busy

watching wonderful lakorn soap operas.....mai,,,kao,,jai 

 

The Thai culture is not to take or be seen to take advice that is not home-grown regardless of how imminently sensible and logical it is. By the same token, they cannot be seen to publicly agree with such imminently sensible and logical but quintessentially non-Thai reasoning in front of fellow Thais. It is exactly the same in Vietnam but the cuisine is better here.

[Elkski]

Perhaps the cargo capacity is being considered.  The mini vans are probably severely over loaded which reduces stopping distances and increases Brake wear and failures.  It also has a big effect on handling and maybe the bigger Vans will be much safer that way.  This was a big problem for 12-15 passenger vans being used by some college and High School traveling teams and groups in the USA a dozen years ago.  ..  Any amount of luggage and they were overloaded..  Luggage racks on top were really a bad idea. 

Not sure this is the best article but it may lead the better links that pose the problem..

http://www.redwoodsgroup.com/safety-resources/transportation-guidance-and-tools/safety-guidance/12-15-passenger-vans-still-not-a-viable-option-camps/

Edited January 6, 2017 by Elkski

[JAG]

I am trying to remember who has the franchise/contract for the microbuses. Can someone jog my memory.

I don't know, but I'll bet he is on the phone to the office of The Deputy Director -General of The Land Transport Department as we speak.

A very cordial conversation I should imagine. No doubt informal pension arrangements are being discussed...

[carlyai]

I just wish there was ONE willing thai to join these forums and
at least TRY to give a reasonable explanation--could use any
name etc..JUST admit to being thai and try to explain this
 
I just cant process this in my mind--there MUST be some TV
folk here married to thais--what do they say?...or too busy
watching wonderful lakorn soap operas.....mai,,,kao,,jai 

Yet another ill-conceived, impractical and inadequate response to this complex problem. It is the guys behind the wheel who are the problem, not the type of vehicle they are driving. What is required includes the following;
 
Better educated drivers
More visible policing
stronger law enforcement - speeding, drink driving, dangerous driving
better vehicle inspections
and more
 
The only people who will benefit from this new proposal will be those dipping into the procurement process. 

being with a Thai for 30 years now and married for 28 years, I can say that my wife, and most Thai hate the deaths on the road as well.

They really hate getting in a mini bus, bus or Bangkok klong ferry.

But what can the average Thai worker do about this?

They just shut up and die.

That's the way of it. [emoji21]

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