Minivan, bus and road accidents

[Ratsima]

IMHO one of the things that needs to change is the practice of building buses on top of truck frames. The suspension is bad for passengers and buses end up carrying much less weight than the chassis was designed for. One of the companies that does this is Cherdchai which has a big bus factory in Korat.

Of course the bus in question was a Mercedes so it must have been constructed as an actual bus. (Just kidding.)

[PeteC]

You may have read that the 3 teachers killed were found embracing their students in the back of the bus. One student was found clutched in the arms of a teacher. That teacher just graduated and started work on Sept 26. Those 3 are the true hero's of this sad episode and really need to be recognized as such.

I'll post their photos when I see them again. They're in one of the articles.

[PeteC]

The teacher on the left was the one who just started work after graduation from university.

Khaosod English
·
Educational institutions and friends of the three teachers who died along with 20 students in the bus fire accident in Pathum Thani province on Tuesday, October 1, have expressed their condolences and paid tribute to the three educators. The teachers are: Ms. Pimthong Sombat, Ms. Saranya Homkesorn, and Ms. Kanokwan Sriporn. All three were noted for performing their duty in trying to protect the students until the very last moment.

461855668_980252304147278_1448106659127204544_n.jpg (91.63 KiB) Viewed 4113 times

[caller]

Its all so sad - and avoidable. I see the Police have quickly charged the driver with various offences and are awaiting forensic reports about the bus, before considering charges against the company. Just for allowing such a vehicle on the road should be enough! But seriously, I would like to know how such a conversion on a decrepit old vehicle was allowed on the road in the 1st place?

[Dannie Boy]

Its all so sad - and avoidable. I see the Police have quickly charged the driver with various offences and are awaiting forensic reports about the bus, before considering charges against the company. Just for allowing such a vehicle on the road should be enough! But seriously, I would like to know how such a conversion on a decrepit old vehicle was allowed on the road in the 1st place?

I go out for an early morning bike ride and often see “school buses “ that have come out of the ark - far older than this one - it’s frightening to think about the dangers!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Big Boy]

Another question that should, but probably won't be asked is, if this bus was so bad, how many MOTs has the bus passed whilst in this state? Shouldn't the MOT station be investigated as well?

I remember the old Hua Hin City supporters bus that had half the wheel nuts missing. We used that bus for a few years, so I presume it was passing MOTs whilst missing a lot of wheel nuts.

[2dandan]

In 2008 we were stranded in Hua Hin for 8 days when our flight home was cancelled after yellow shirt protesters took over Bangkok airport.

Emirates eventually arranged repatriation flights from Chiang Mai. We were instructed to make our way to BKK where a convoy of approx 12/15 busses was waiting to take stranded passengers to CM. Our bus had a top deck for passengers and the ground deck for luggage.

After about 4 hours on the road we saw smoke emerging from the lower luggage compartment. We shouted the driver but he was downstairs in his driving position and didnt hear us. The smoke got worse and started filling the passenger cabin. Eventually the driver heard us and stopped. The cabin smoke and heat was increasing around the middle of the bus. Front passengers evacuated from the stairs. The smoke was so thick rear passengers couldnt see to the front.

I was in the back with my wife, son, his girlfriend, my 11 month old granddaughter and 2 nieces aged 8 and 10 years. We opened the rear fire escape window and despite the height we managed to get out, as did all other passengers. As far as I know no passengers were injured.

Flames were licking up the side of the bus by this time. Luckily we were passing through a town and numerous people turned up at the bus carrying fire extinguishers and my son and I managed to put the fire out.

All luggage was badly burnt and everybody was stinking of smoke.

No big deal apparently as we were then ushered onto a spare bus travelling in the convoy and we carried on with our journey to CM where we caught our repatriation flight.

I can only assume that the bus engine went on fire due to an oil leak or similar.

[Big Boy]

I see the Gov't are stopping school field trips with immediate effect https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ety-debate

Knee jerk, knee jerk, knee jerk - they need to take all buses off the road pending an urgent inspection. Serviceable buses will soon be back on the road. All failures need to be scrapped/replaced. Future inspections need to be more rigid.

Of course it won't happen. Firstly, there won't be enough buses left to meet demand. Secondly, who would fund the replacements? Thirdly, too many people would be put out of work and finally, TIT and the inspection criterion will most likely be watered down so much, 1, 2 and 3 won't actually be a problem. So why do anything in the first place?

[Big Boy]

Another ludicrous thing on Thai Channel 31 today was a safety team explaining safety devices fitted on trains and buses, and how to use them properly. Most of it was common sense, but not all of it. Certainly, I'd seen seat belt cutters on buses/minibuses, but I never knew what it was/how to use it.

It got me thinking (not just in Thailand) a safety briefing should be given on how to use these devices before every bus departs (similar to aircraft). I actually wonder how many bus drivers even know how to use the kit. Was I the only one in the dark about seat belt cutters? i.e. does everybody else know what they look like/how to use them?

Certainly the kids on the ill fated bus would not have known how to use the safety kit - I wonder if the 3 poor teachers knew how to use it? If not, it should become essential for child escorts.

[PeteC]

Khaosod English
·
Detained school bus driver Saman late on Wednesday changed the account he earlier said to police interrogators that a tyre exploded which eventually led to the accident which killed 23. He now said he heard a loud bang but didn't stop the bus to find out what it was. The remark came after police found no evidence of an exploded tyre.

[Ratsima]

This is getting a bit weird. One of the clips shown on TV news appears to show the bus, still moving, with flames in the vicinity of the left front tire (tyre). Another video showed what appeared to be a couple of forensic police officers examining what looked like a severely damaged right front tire.

And, given that it appears that none of the gas tanks exploded, one wonders what was so flammable inside the bus that caused such a large and rapidly spreading fire.

[caller]

given that it appears that none of the gas tanks exploded, one wonders what was so flammable inside the bus that caused such a large and rapidly spreading fire.

The merc driver the bus side swiped and another behind said after they stopped, they cut off their engines because of the strong smell of gas

[Ratsima]

given that it appears that none of the gas tanks exploded, one wonders what was so flammable inside the bus that caused such a large and rapidly spreading fire.

The merc driver the bus side swiped and another behind said after they stopped, they cut off their engines because of the strong smell of gas

Right, but coming from where? Video on TV this morning purported to show all eleven (?) tanks none of which appeared to have suffered any sort of damage at all. How that is possible given the ferocity of the fire?

[PeteC]

Khaosod English

The suspicious behavior of the Shinabutr Tour company owning the bus involved in the fire accident that claimed the lives of 23 students and teachers in Pathum Thani province has surfaced again. On Thursday, five other buses belonging to the same company failed to report for inspection at the Lopburi Provincial Transport Department as ordered by the Department of Land Transport.

Instead, they went directly to Nakhon Ratchasima province.

Officials at the Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Transport Office were notified to investigate and found that there was an attempt to remove the CNG gas tanks from the buses, presumably to evade inspection. The officials then informed the police, who have seized all five tour buses for further investigation.

[PeteC]

You don't need a damaged tank to cause a fire, just a problem with the apparent light weight tubing and/or valves. Plus the compartment seems to be used by staff to store extra junk.