PHUKET: Dramatic footage showing an out of control bus slamming into a house on Phuket yesterday will add pressure on authorities to improve road safety.
YET ANOTHER Phuket bus comes to a sudden stop when it hits a house
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xl_bv37r1A
The footage was taken by a security camera at Wild Kingdom Tours, which is based near the spot where the Pegas T bus hit the house at the base of Patong Hill.
Many times, buses out of control have crashed on Patong Hill or at the base of the hill. Locals believe it's just a matter of time before there's ''a big one.''
At a road safety conference on Phuket last month, experts heard that the Andaman region has the worst quality buses in all of Thailand.
The rating came from the Director of the Road Safety Group. National Health Foundation, Thanapong Jinrong.
He added that buses in use on Phuket and in nearby provinces were often second-hand and far from perfect.
''People often blame the drivers but the buses are usually not in the right condition,'' he said.
Certainly, buses with faulty tyres have previously slid off Patong Hill in the wet because they couldn't grip the road surface.
There are estimated to be 1300 large buses operating on Phuket - with only 500 registered on Phuket - and close to 3000 minivans.
Kwanrak Mengtrakul of the Collaborating Centre for Injury prevention and Safety Promotion, Khon Kaen Hospital, sais that legislation obliging buses to have seatbelts fitting is coming soon in Thailand.
''The problem is that although fitting seatbelts will be compulsory for buses and minivans, only the drivers will legally have to put them on,'' she said.
She added that there was only one place in the whole of Thailand where buses could be thoroughly checked to see that they meet international standards.
Thaland rates third in the world in terms of road deaths - but experts believe the figures for Thailand are unreported.
Many of the deaths are tourists. Rachel Cooper, a campaigning British mother on a mission, came to Thailand in April to crusade for better road safety.
Her son Felix, 19, was killed in a bus crash in Ranong province, north of Phuket, in 2010.
Ms Cooper was shocked when she discovered that the tyres on the bus were bald of tread. Good tyres were probably switched for bad after a roadworthy check, she was told.
Hoping other mothers in Thailand can avoid her anguish, she wanted to see the bus driver in court and try to have the bus company prosecuted.
The bus driver, who fled the scene and was not apprehended until March this year, was due in court in Ranong today.
Phuket Pegas Bus Crashes on Patong Hill
YET ANOTHER Phuket bus comes to a sudden stop when it hits a house
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xl_bv37r1A
The footage was taken by a security camera at Wild Kingdom Tours, which is based near the spot where the Pegas T bus hit the house at the base of Patong Hill.
Many times, buses out of control have crashed on Patong Hill or at the base of the hill. Locals believe it's just a matter of time before there's ''a big one.''
At a road safety conference on Phuket last month, experts heard that the Andaman region has the worst quality buses in all of Thailand.
The rating came from the Director of the Road Safety Group. National Health Foundation, Thanapong Jinrong.
He added that buses in use on Phuket and in nearby provinces were often second-hand and far from perfect.
''People often blame the drivers but the buses are usually not in the right condition,'' he said.
Certainly, buses with faulty tyres have previously slid off Patong Hill in the wet because they couldn't grip the road surface.
There are estimated to be 1300 large buses operating on Phuket - with only 500 registered on Phuket - and close to 3000 minivans.
Kwanrak Mengtrakul of the Collaborating Centre for Injury prevention and Safety Promotion, Khon Kaen Hospital, sais that legislation obliging buses to have seatbelts fitting is coming soon in Thailand.
''The problem is that although fitting seatbelts will be compulsory for buses and minivans, only the drivers will legally have to put them on,'' she said.
She added that there was only one place in the whole of Thailand where buses could be thoroughly checked to see that they meet international standards.
Thaland rates third in the world in terms of road deaths - but experts believe the figures for Thailand are unreported.
Many of the deaths are tourists. Rachel Cooper, a campaigning British mother on a mission, came to Thailand in April to crusade for better road safety.
Her son Felix, 19, was killed in a bus crash in Ranong province, north of Phuket, in 2010.
Ms Cooper was shocked when she discovered that the tyres on the bus were bald of tread. Good tyres were probably switched for bad after a roadworthy check, she was told.
Hoping other mothers in Thailand can avoid her anguish, she wanted to see the bus driver in court and try to have the bus company prosecuted.
The bus driver, who fled the scene and was not apprehended until March this year, was due in court in Ranong today.
Just look at the speed the bus is going at!!!!!
Posted by phuket madness on June 5, 2013 11:44
Editor Comment:
I am sure the driver was not looking at the speedo. But he might as well have been.