Transport Ministry wants to phase out passenger vans in six months

[zakk9]

This is good. The passenger vans are totally unregulated and mostly exist to create money and some kind of activity for men who are to lazy to do a proper job but like to drive a car. In most countries, this transport need is covered by normal buses, and although they have accidents too, they are generally safer and easier to control, since they are organised in large companies that actually have names and a management.

[whatawonderfulday]

Let's analyse this further. Currently a passenger van is limited to 11 seats.  Most of us know however that they are often overloaded thus endangering passengers further.  This could be either due to the fact that there are only 11 seatbelts fitted ( not that many locals understand their purpose or how to use them perhaps) but secondly additional passengers add extra weight for which the vans are not designed for and of course impacting their C of G to make what is inherently an unstable slab sided vehicle even more unstable.

 

So as many are overloaded perhaps 40 % then to introduce  20 seater micro buses will do nothing to stop the carnage as other OPs have stated. But the advantage of course is that they will also be overloaded by possibly the same margin so instead 15/16 people being put at risk by greedy owners or incompetent drivers this will now increase to the potential of 28/30 people being put at risk. So at a stroke the Minister has worked wonders for the potential risk increase for passengers.

 

But there again you have to ask are there any conflicts of interest coming into play here with certain parties within this Ministry perhaps having business interests owning/operating/manufacturing/importing these so called micro buses ?

 

The up side of course is that with the introduction of micro buses ( if it ever happens) then there will be tens of thousands of the passenger vans surplus to requirements that no one would want to buy.   Then for a snip they can be bought up,  seats ripped out ,  windows replaced and turn them back into delivery vans for which they were original intended and designed to be.  Thus many of the overloaded pick-ups, generally stacked so high and dangerous also can thus be taken of the road and replaced by these newly converted box vans.   Thus with these pick-ups removed from cargo lugging acivities there would be no demand for them either so hence the price of these secondhand trucks would drop significantly.

 

So consider that the value of these pick-ups would drop  then this would provide the opportunity for the unlicensed and possibly under age drivers to move up from a motor cycle to a pick-up for minimal outlay ( or those of the irresponsible parents anyway).  So at a stroke instead of one ex  under-age, unlicensed and drunk  motor cyclist  being involved in an accident then that very same person could possibly,  in his newly purchased cheap p/u, be able to strike mayhem with other road uses thus adding significantly to the loss of life .

 

All in all it appears that the Ministers statements have the potential to get Thailand to the  number 1 spot in the world for road deaths - all at the stroke of a pen.

 

Amassing Thailand

Edited January 6, 2017 by whatawonderfulday

[pegman]

Most of these comments are so off the mark that the people writing them probably have never riden in these vans. I have. Some have felt safe and others felt like I was about to die for sure. 

The most dangerous I have been on are the visa run 15 passenger vans. Those drivers are maniacs trying to do their route in the fastest possible time. They get away with it because of lack of enforcement. This country is crawling with cops but few are doing what they should be doing. I have never had a problem with the vans going along Hwy 3 to Ban Chan or those from Victory Monument to Pattaya making me think there are different incentives for breaking land speed records only on certain runs.

[jlwilliamsjr18]

Same old story....Hey look over there!  

[WhizBang]

Like this is going to happen.

 

And in 6 months?  

 

And even if it did happen, the same idiot drivers would ending up driving the new mini-buses.

 

So nothing would change.

 

Why is it that Thais can never seem to think through the problem, but ALWAYS come up with dumb knee jerk reactions.
 

[saigonsunset]

.. and deprive Toyota of one of their hot sellers? They surely will intervene making sure the demand for vans remains high.

[seajae]

it isnt the vans, its the bloody drivers, even with micro buses there will still be idiot drivers that have no regard for the road rules or speed limits etc. Just put speed limiters on them so they cannot go over a set speed and have a law that is enforced so that they can only drive so many hours/kilometers in a 24 hour period and must be drug/alcohol tested before leaving. Without speed, drugs/alcohol or sleepy drivers the road deaths will drop dramatically.

[elgordo38]

From the maudlin to the extreme. Posters 2 and 21 seem to cover the problem pretty extensively not much else to ad. Rather than an direct attack on the problem they seem to want to kill it with a 1000 cuts. There are some good van drivers with a quite a few bad apples hidden among them. Maybe a start at the drivers level would help they know who and what their mates are. Its a shame to penalize everyone but sadly that is the way it is done here. 

Edited January 6, 2017 by elgordo38

[hansnl]

What a splendid idea!

All those killer vans and idiot drivers of the road.

Good chance to bring back regular bus services with normal buses with good drivers and speed restricted to 90 km/h.

And please tell the authorities and police to uphold laws & all.

[BSJ]

It's probably just a 30 second grab on the nightly news that will be forgotten in 6 months as you cannot replace the vans with small buses on such a grand scale in that time.  If you went to the bus sales places today you could probably count the total in all of LOS on your fingers and toes!   They probably know it's unworkable.  Anyway the solution is to fix the nut behind the wheel.......not new buses.

[hansnl]

54 minutes ago, pegman said:

Most of these comments are so off the mark that the people writing them probably have never riden in these vans. I have. Some have felt safe and others felt like I was about to die for sure. 

The most dangerous I have been on are the visa run 15 passenger vans. Those drivers are maniacs trying to do their route in the fastest possible time. They get away with it because of lack of enforcement. This country is crawling with cops but few are doing what they should be doing. I have never had a problem with the vans going along Hwy 3 to Ban Chan or those from Victory Monument to Pattaya making me think there are different incentives for breaking land speed records only on certain runs.

Our must be a very lucky man then.

[helloagain]

6 hours 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.

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.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

What <deleted> wrote this......phase them out YEH RIGHT. Like retired foriengers were going to an id card 9 years ago. Why do they say such crap

[Asiantravel]

5 hours 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.

 

 

NCA bus company has ongoing driver training program (see link below) and it evidently works considering the number of safe journeys this company completes all around the country every day. The drivers are also monitored through GPS to ensure their speed does not exceed 90 km/h plus having 2 drivers on every long journey.

 I don't understand why the Thai government who can see NCA has a safe and successful business model doesn't simply use this as its benchmark?

 

http://www.nca.co.th/news.html

Edited January 6, 2017 by Asiantravel

[SOTIRIOS]

...do you think the drivers' attitudes and habits will improve...???

 

...especially when there will be less positions for them to vie for....???

[elliss]

6 hours ago, cmsally said:

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

 

  The  previous  Goverment ,  that is why they  will be shut them down . 555

[White Christmas13]

48 minutes ago, saigonsunset said:

.. and deprive Toyota of one of their hot sellers? They surely will intervene making sure the demand for vans remains high.

They can always sell them to ISIS

[outsider]

Nothing is wrong with the vans. The problem is the stupid idiots behind the wheel. Changing these vans to bigger vehicles will only result in bigger accidents and more fatalities. It will be the same idiots driving these 'micro' buses. Don't the authorities here ever THINK???

[ldiablo72]

Nothing to due with the size of the vehicle and everything to do with the idiot behind the wheel.

[Sooo Upto Me]

6 hours ago, NanLaew said:

 

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.

 

Why pity these visa run companies?

They are the same people that employ these nutter drivers.

Sorry just seen ur last sentence.

 

Edited January 6, 2017 by Sooo Upto Me
Not finished

[KarenBravo]

31 minutes ago, Asiantravel said:

 

 

NCA bus company has ongoing driver training program (see link below) and it evidently works considering the number of safe journeys this company completes all around the country every day. The drivers are also monitored through GPS to ensure their speed does not exceed 90 km/h plus having 2 drivers on every long journey.

 I don't understand why the Thai government who can see NCA has a safe and successful business model doesn't simply use this as its benchmark?

 

http://www.nca.co.th/news.html

 

Maybe it isn't the "training" that has made the difference, but, being monitored and knowing they will be fired if they don't do as they are told.

[JulesMad]

It is NOT the minivan that is dangerous; it is the DRIVER!!!
Bigger busses, same idiots behind the wheel only will make bigger accidents and more deaths

 

It is not easy to change something between the ears of any (Thai) person, some say it is impossible....

 

[dcnx]

Right after they curb corruption, stamp out the Phuket taxi mafia, stop the jet ski scam, put an end to drug use, clear the beach of touts and hustlers, and so on and so on.

 

Pipe dreams.

 

They can pass all the laws they want. It takes long term enforcement to make things happen. 

[impulse]

Maybe I can get a good deal on a HiAce to do an RV conversion I've been wanting to do.

 

But I'm not shopping for the lumber just yet.

 

 

[ThaiFelix]

7 hours ago, fruitman said:

 

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

Because a lot of these vans are owned by the police!

[NoshowJones]

I know all about the minivan drivers and don't dispute all I have read about them here on Thaivisa, I live up country and in the eleven years I have been here I have used a local mini van company to go to Bangkok. I have never had any reason to complain about the standard of driving from this company, any regular TV member will know my views on Thai drivers and motorbike riders, but whoever runs this local company must be doing something right. Are there any posters who live upcountry who travel on minivans from their town or village to Bangkok who can back me up on this?

[NoshowJones]

7 hours ago, fruitman said:

 

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

Except at tea money time.

[rosst]

9 hours ago, ignis said:

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 +

I think you mean tachograph,  electronic now and just plug in and download. 

[Phuketboy]

Just reading the same thing, different story heading.  Been the same all week.  The only thing they should be phasing out are the drivers.  They are really scraping at the bottom of the barrel for solutions to the traffic/accident/mini bus problems.  Need to contact the ministry with these solutions people are writing here,  because lets face it, they will never read comments on Thai Visa. 

[Sakeopete]

Oh I am so waiting for the announcement that Thailand will be the hub of safe driving. 

[snoop1130]

40,000 passenger vans could be taken off roads 

By The Nation

 

 

AS MANY as 40,000 inter-provincial passenger vans could be taken off Thailand’s roads by 2019 because they are not appropriate for public transportation, Deputy Prime Minister Wisanu Krue-Ngam said  Friday.

 

Wisanu said that the Transport Ministry’s proposal to use Article 44 of the interim charter to immediately tackle the problem with passenger vans did not solely stem from the horrific crash in Chon Buri on Monday which killed 25 people and injured two others.

 

He said the Royal Thai Police had earlier this week proposed an amendment to the Land Traffic Act for the Cabinet’s approval, while another road safety committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan presented road safety measures to the Cabinet last October. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/breakingnews/30303572

 

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