Deadly bus tragedy prompts Thai transport safety debate

A debate over whether student education trips should be completely prohibited has been sparked by the vehicle fire horror that claimed the lives of 20 students, three professors, and injured several people on Tuesday. Some argue that field trips are still a significant component of kids ‘ learning process in response to the need for public vehicle safety to be a top priority.

After the crash, Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob ordered individuals ‘ field visits to be suspended.

The secretary said that case-by-case safety inspections for the buses arranged for the trips may be conducted by provincial property transport offices. Additionally, field trips may be categorised according to students ‘ ages.

Long-distance inter-provincial journeys may need to be avoided while younger children may need to be accompanied by their families on the journey.

But, Pol Gen Permpoon insisted that while banning them altogether will be a deterrent, training excursions are also necessary for learning. He also emphasized the need for a path incident response drill to ensure that drivers are trained on how to live and avoid an accident.

The victims were on a field trip in Pathum Thani when a fire raged through their vehicle on Tuesday, killing them.

39 learners from Kindergarten 2 through Mathayom 3 and six teachers from the Wat Khao Praya Sangkharam class in Uthai Thani’s Lan Sak region, which is about 250 kilometers away from the accident’s site, were on the bus.

In Pathum Thani’s Lam Luk Ka area, the bus caught on fire on the northbound lane of Vibhavadi Rangsit Road near the Zeer Rangsit shopping center.

The next of a three-bus ship transporting kids to an exhibition at the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand company in Bang Kruai region in Nonthaburi was the car, belonging to Sing Buri-based Chinnaboot Tour. They had previously been to Ayutthaya’s History Park. It was a one-day learning journey.

The bus driver, identified as Samarn Chanphut, 48, fled the scene before surrendering to authorities on Tuesday evening. His permission has been suspended, and he faces losing his licence entirely if found liable.

A fuel leak was the cause of the drama, according to the examination of the ill-fated bus by investigative police.

The bus had 11 tanks containing compressed natural gas ( CNG ), and a fuel line, which carries gas from a tank to the engine, had come loose, causing the leak. The remaining vehicles were not registered, but six of the 11 CNG tank installed on the vehicle were.

There was no proof of a front wheel explosion, as recently reported, but the front-wheel wheel was broken and showed signs of having scraped against the street area.

It is not yet known why the oil was leaking or what caused the flames to ignite the flames.

The Department of Land Transport announced that it will check every 13, 426 CNG-powered vehicle in the country within the next 60 times.

Health problems

One survivor claimed the fire started at the front of the vehicle and took less than a minute before the fire engulfed the car, according to Thanapong Jinvong, director of the Thailand’s Road Safety Group. This means the people had much time to escape, he said.

” The question is why the fire started to rage through the vehicle but quickly. Is the oil system malfunctioning here? Generally, there should be an automatic protection shut-off valve as a safety mechanism. Also, there was no record of petrol tank blast in this case”, he said.

” The evacuation door of the vehicle involved in the accident was stuck, which is another matter.” More people would have survived if the door had been shut effectively, according to Dr. Thanapong, who added that there was no one else on the vehicle to help put the fire out.

He added that Thailand lacks a main organization that acts as a resource for the state to develop strategies, policies, and police initiatives, such as the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research in Malaysia.

We lack a specialized, independent organization that is dedicated to identifying the root causes of the flames and providing government with information in a systematic manner.

” We just have experts working for different organizations. Often, they never talk out about mistakes or flaws at their companies”.

State agencies may inspect more carefully before the outings, while public transportation companies should compile listings of bus companies that meet safety requirements for colleges to choose from.

Additionally, we need to discuss whether educational trips are also necessary. Do]young ] pupils have to take a trip across provinces? I concurred that industry visits for various ages of school children should be categorised, he said.

He continued, adding that the majority of Thai people still do not understand how to deal with and survive street mishaps. A street safety course for Thai pupils was only taught for an hour of the entire semester, according to a study by our team.

He even suggested that a vehicle hired for a class trip should have a different employee accompanying the bus, in addition to the driver. The team member is open the emergency door and use an extinguishers to put out a fire, he said.

Public health act drive

Suchatvee Suwansawat, a former president of the Engineering Institute of Thailand ( EIT ), said he plans to table a bill on public safety to parliament for consideration. The act needs the support of at least 10,000 people and will be submitted on behalf of the legal field.

To date, about 1, 000 names have been collected in support of the invoice, said Mr Suchatvee, who likewise serves as a deputy head of the Democrat Party.

He stated that the vehicle fire tragedy is intended to raise awareness of road safety among the electorate and that he hopes more people will sign the bill.

A committee on public health may be established and make a direct report to the excellent secretary if the bill is approved by parliament and becomes law.

” The commission will include members of the Council of Engineers, the EIT, scientists, expert authorities and the public, “he said.

The council will act as a main organization that will dispatch police and rescue personnel on the ground and give officials and experts on issues involving street accidents and disasters.

They may sell their understanding, gather data, and other information to help them come up with strategies and action plans, and then turn in reports to parliament.

” The council will also get complaints from the standard public”, he said. With the assistance of experts,” the bill will improve efforts to save victims and prevent accents more carefully.”

A moratorium is no answer

Kanyawan Samranpanich, a mother of two individuals attending a Bangkok college, said that she disagrees with any attempt to boycott education visits.

These visits provide individuals with an opportunity to observe, join, learn new things and have fun in an environment different from their normal schools, she said.

” Banning educational trips is not a solution. The trips are not the issue, but it is about enforcing security measures.

” The open vehicle may meet safety standards. But many cars have been improperly modified,” she said.

She argued that young children should only be permitted to travel short distances within their house counties or to local provinces as opposed to long-distance ones.

Teachers and students should routinely participate in street crash response drills, and she recommended that people buses be regularly inspected to ensure safety.

Adisak Plitponkarnpim, director of Mahidol University’s National Institute for Child and Family, concurred that a ban on educational travels wo n’t solve the issue.

What we should do is solve concerns about safety of the public buses. The rules are that, but the issue is]lack of ] protection, “he said.

He added that by reviewing the owners ‘ information and holding training sessions on vehicle safety, the Department of Land Transport should update the regulations governing the issuance of public bus driving licenses.

Costs could be reduced if a bus driver was properly trained to deal with crisis situations, he said.

He added that companies may assess locally-made double-deckers, which are commonly used to carry foreign visitors, to ensure they meet security standards.

Noppadon Pattama, an MP from the Pheu Thai Party listing, also demanded that the government enforc strict regulations regarding traffic and people cars.

He claimed that exceeding speed restrictions is another significant cause of road mishaps, so the state may impose a constitutional requirement for public cars to have speed-limiting technology to prevent them from exceeding required speed limits.

He further stated that double-deckers may no longer be operating because it is difficult for people to leave in an accident.

House committee on education chair Sophon Zarum claimed that those responsible for setting up the vehicle and providing the service may bear the brunt of the horror caused by the bus fire.

He further stated that the government needs to expedite the recovery and settlement of the injured and the families of the accident victims.