Bangkok Post - Deadly bus tragedy sparks road safety debate

Rescue workers examine the damaged bus in Pathum Thani on October 1. (Photo: Pongpat Wongyala)

The Bus fire The tragedy that left 20 students and three teachers dead and several injured on Tuesday has sparked a debate about whether educational travel for students should be banned altogether. But some argue that field trips remain an important part of students’ learning, while addressing concerns that public bus safety must be a priority.

After the accident, Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob ordered students’ field trips to be suspended.

If such trips are necessary, the buses arranged for the trips must undergo safety inspections by provincial land transport departments on a case-by-case basis, the minister said, adding that excursions must be categorized according to the age of the students.

Younger students may need to be accompanied by their parents on the trip, while long-distance travel between provinces may need to be avoided.

However, Pol General Permpoon insisted that educational trips were still essential for learning, while a total ban on these trips would be an obstacle. He also stressed the need for a road accident response exercise so that passengers can be equipped with the knowledge on how to escape and survive an accident.

The victims died on Tuesday in a fire that broke out in their bus in Pathum Thani while they were on an excursion.

The bus was carrying 39 students from Kindergarten 2 to Mathayom 3 and six teachers from Wat Khao Praya Sangkharam school in Lan Sak district of Uthai Thani, which is about 250 kilometers from the accident site.

The bus caught fire on an entry lane of Vibhavadi Rangsit Road near Zeer Rangsit Mall in Lam Luk Ka district of Pathum Thani.

The Sing Buri-based Chinnaboot Tour vehicle was the second in a fleet of three buses that took students to an exhibition at the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand office in Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi. They had previously visited the History Park in Ayutthaya. It was a one-day educational trip.

The bus driver, identified as Samarn Chanphut, 48, fled the scene before handing himself in to police on Tuesday evening. His license has been revoked and he faces permanent loss of his license if found guilty.

The forensic police investigation into the ill-fated bus revealed that a gas leak was the cause of the tragedy.

The bus had 11 tanks of compressed natural gas (CNG) and a fuel line that carries the gas from one tank to the engine had come loose, leading to the leak. Six of the eleven CNG tanks installed in the bus were registered, the remaining tanks were not.

As previously reported, there was no evidence of front wheel explosion, but the front wheel shaft was broken and showed signs of scratches on the road surface.

It is not yet clear what caused the sparks that ignited the flames or why the gas leaked.

The Ministry of Land Transport announced that it would inspect all 13,426 CNG vehicles nationwide within 60 days.

Safety concerns

Thanapong Jinvong, director of the Road Safety Group of Thailand, told the Bangkok Post that one of the survivors said the fire started at the front of the bus and it took less than a minute for the fire to engulf the vehicle. That meant the passengers had little time to escape, he said.

“The question is why the fire raced through the bus so quickly. Is this due to the defective gas system? Normally there should be an automatic safety shut-off valve as a protection mechanism. “In addition, there was no report of a gas tank explosion in this case,” he said.

“Another problem is that the emergency door of the bus involved in the accident was stuck. If the door had worked properly, more people should have survived,” said Dr. Thanapong, adding that there were no other personnel on the bus who could have helped put out the fire.

He added that Thailand lacks a central authority to act as a road safety knowledge and information center for the government to formulate strategies, policies and enforcement measures, such as the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research in Malaysia.

“We lack a specific and independent agency specialized in collecting information and finding the cause of the fire in order to systematically present solutions to the government and inform the public,” he said.

“We only have specialists who work in separate agencies. Sometimes they can’t talk about mistakes or shortcomings in their agencies.”

For short-term measures, vehicles arranged for field trips will need to be more stringently checked by government agencies before trips, while public transport operators should create lists of bus companies that meet safety standards so schools can make a selection.

“We also need to discuss whether educational trips are still necessary.” [young] Students need to travel across provinces? I agreed that we should categorize field trips for different age groups of school children,” he said.

He continued that most Thais still lack knowledge about how to respond to and survive traffic accidents. “A study conducted by our group shows that a road safety course for Thai students accounted for less than an hour of the entire semester,” he said.

He also suggested that a bus rented for a school trip should have another employee on board in addition to the driver. In an emergency, the employee can use a fire extinguisher to put out a fire and open the emergency door, he said.

Thanapong: Establish a road safety authority

Push for public safety legislation

Suchatvee Suwansawat, a former president of the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT), said he plans to submit a public security bill to parliament for consideration. The bill is submitted on behalf of the civil sector and requires the support of at least 10,000 people.

So far, about 1,000 signatures have been collected in support of the bill, said Mr. Suchatvee, who is also vice chairman of the Democratic Party.

He said the bus fire tragedy was expected to raise public awareness of the importance of road safety and he hoped more people would sign the bill.

“If the bill is passed by Parliament and becomes law, a Public Safety Committee will be established which will report directly to the Prime Minister.”

“The committee will consist of representatives from the Council of Engineers, EIT, academics, professional bodies and the public,” he said.

The committee will act as a central authority that sends officials and experts to work with police and emergency responders on the ground on issues related to traffic accidents and disasters.

“They will provide their knowledge and collect evidence and information that will be used to formulate strategies and action plans and then submit reports to Parliament.”

“The committee will also hear complaints from the public,” he said. “If the bill comes into force, it will strengthen efforts to rescue victims and prevent accents more systematically with the help of specialists.”

Suchatvee: Bill needs public support

A ban is not a solution

Kanyawan Samranpanich, mother of two students at a school in Bangkok, said she disagreed with any attempt to ban educational trips.

These trips provide students the opportunity to explore, engage, learn new things and have fun in an environment different from their everyday classroom, she said.

“A ban on educational trips is not a solution. The travel is not the problem, it’s about enforcing safety measures.”

“The public bus must meet safety standards. But many buses were converted illegally,” she said.

She said young students should only be allowed short-distance trips within their home provinces or to nearby provinces instead of long-distance trips.

Road accident response drills must be held regularly for teachers and students, while public buses must always be inspected to ensure safety, she said.

Adisak Plitponkarnpim, director of the National Institute for Child and Family Department at Mahidol University, believed that a ban on educational trips would not solve the problem.

“What we should do is address concerns about the safety of public buses. The laws are there, but the problem is.” [lack of] Enforcement,” he said.

He also said that the Ministry of Land Transport should revise the rules for issuing driving licenses for public buses by checking drivers’ records and conducting bus safety training.

Losses can be minimized if a bus driver is well trained to deal with emergencies, he said.

He added that authorities should inspect locally manufactured double-deckers, which are often used to transport foreign tourists, to ensure they meet safety standards.

Adisak: Lack of law enforcement

Noppadon Pattama, a Pheu Thai party-list lawmaker, also called on the government to enforce strict compliance with the law in traffic and public buses.

He said exceeding speed limits was another major cause of road accidents. Therefore, the government should legislate that public buses must be equipped with speed limiting technologies to ensure they do not exceed posted speed limits.

Double-deckers should also no longer be allowed to operate as it would be difficult for passengers to escape in the event of an accident, he added.

Sophon Zarum, Chairman of the House of Representatives Education Committee, said educational trips were not the cause of the bus fire tragedy, but those involved in organizing the bus and providing the service should take the blame for failure to comply with safety regulations .

The government must also speed up assistance and compensation to the injured and families of those who died in the accident, he added.