Negligence claims lives

The fatal bus crash which claimed the lives of 23 people on Tuesday shattered thousands of hearts across the country. As the nation grieves with the victims’ families, the result of the police’s initial investigation seems to suggest negligence in the Department of Land Transport.
The department, which is under the Ministry of Transport, is responsible for the issuance of permits, but the required safety inspections are actually carried out by a third party, Alternative Resource Engineering Co.
According to the police’s preliminary investigation, the bus involved in the fatal accident had been heavily modified by its operator, Chinnaboot Tour. To begin with, the bus was fitted with 11 CNG cylinders, more than the maximum of six allowed under existing regulations. The cylinders were also all installed on the lower deck, near the tyres, which made them vulnerable to impact.
How could engineers with the third-party inspector and officials at the DLT miss these modifications when the bus was brought in for inspection? Was foul play involved, or was it simply negligence of the DLT’s part?
Yesterday, a DLT official in Sing Buri was transferred to face a probe into the accident. The government can’t stop there — it must summon everyone who could be at fault, including the official’s supervisors at the DLT and engineers at the third-party inspection firm.
The case sheds some light on the worrying lack of safety standard in the nation’s bus operations.
In Thailand, operators often use locally modified vehicles as importing a new bus or coach is simply too expensive, given the 40% import tax on such items. The rate was devised four decades ago to protect local automotive manufacturers from foreign competitors. The protectionist measure worked a little too well — it gave rise to small coach manufacturers that specialise in using old chassis to make brand-new vehicles.
This ill-fated bus is a perfect example of a locally modified vehicle. This bus’s chassis was first registered by its original owner in 1970, or 54 years ago, and its subsequent owners used the same chassis to apply for a Type 3 commercial permit for non-scheduled bus.
This licence is highly sought after as it permits its holder to do business countrywide. But the law is obsolete and needs to be reviewed. To start with, the existing rule does not limit the age of a chassis that can be registered for a Type 3 commercial permit.
The engine of this particular bus had been modified recently, fitted with new Mercedes-Benz engine and a compressed natural gas (CNG) system to help save fuel cost. To safely fit a CNG system in this bus, an additional deck needs to be added to house passengers on the upper deck, as the lower deck is used to house the CNG system and cylinders.
Experts have said the best place to install CNG cylinders is on the roof to avoid the obvious risks to passengers in case of emergencies. In this bus, and many other buses made by local manufacturers, the tanks are installed on the lower deck, near areas used as luggage storage or even additional toilets or seating areas for passengers.
The ill-fated bus was one of 13,426 CNG-fuelled buses registered in the country — 2,935 of them non-scheduled.
Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit has made the right move by quickly ordering an inspection of all CNG buses and pledging to improve the safety of the nation’s buses and vans CNG-fuelled fleet. One can only hoped that this pledge isn’t mere lip service that will be forgotten as soon as the tears dry up.