Songkran exodus will again bring misery: an article in the Bangkok Post

The study, which was partly funded by the Thai Health Promotion
Foundation, found that at least 53% of vans and at least 67% of buses
drive over the speed limit on the highways and motorways in Thailand.
Speed surveys of buses and vans were done quarterly in 2012 on four
major national highways (Highway 1, 34, 35 and 338) and on one motorway
(Motorway Highway 7).

Driving over the speed limit resulted in a higher risk of road crashes
and more severe consequences. As the speed of a vehicle increases, the
driver tends to have less control and the chances of taking evasive
action diminishes as well. This greatly increases the risk of an
accident.

The impact of a collision that a vehicle travelling at a higher speed
incurs is much higher than the impact of collision that a vehicle
travelling at a lower speed incurs - the severity of injury greatly
increases as the impact of collision increases. This is why speeding
results in more severe accidents.

The current trend of speeding by bus and van drivers is a serious
threat to public safety on the road, especially as the Songkran holiday
approaches.

Public transport is the common mode of intercity travel and 87% of the
people who use public transport catch either buses or vans running on
fixed and non-fixed routes.

Road accidents are considered a primary cause of death in Thailand and
speeding has been identified as the key contributing factor in road
accidents. What is more concerning is that road accidents here are most
evident during the Songkran holiday season and the New Year holiday
celebrations.

The Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand (Emit) states that the
total number of people who died and were injured in road crashes over
the Songkran holiday last year _ just a span of seven days (between
April 11 and 17) _ was 27,881.

If the current trend of speeding by bus and van drivers continues,
then travelling on buses and vans cannot be considered safe during the
coming Songkran holiday. Since road transport is the only major way of
getting to most places in Thailand, people will have no choice but to
use the unsafe buses and vans to get to their destinations. Of course
it is important to note that there are other reasons besides speeding
for buses and vans to be considered unsafe.

To avoid frequent stopping at gas stations, many vans have an extra
gas cylinder inside the vehicle. When fully loaded with passengers and
gas, these vans reach a weight of about 3,500kg, which is way over the
allowed weight limit of 2000kg. The extra weight makes the vans highly
unstable and unsafe and increases the chance of an accident.

Double-deck buses are used as tour buses and also on fixed routes.
Investigators in many accidents involving double-deck buses found that
many of them exceeded the maximum height of 3.5 metres, with some
towering up to 5m high. The extra height weakens the superstructure of
a bus, making it unstable and prone to rolling over, which is why the
sight of over-turned double-deck buses in Thailand is quite
common.

Traffic authorities are planning to implement UNECE Regulation No.R66
which will make it mandatory for buses to go through a test of the
strength of the superstructure.

Road accidents have a negative socio-economic impact on the victim,
victim's family and the national economy. It may even push people into
poverty. Tourism plays a pivotal role in the economy but unsafe road
transport may drive away tourists, which will be felt in the
pocket.

Those concerned must take action now to reduce the amount of road
accidents. Since there are only a few days left before Songkran,
nothing drastic can be done such as weighing all vans or testing the
strength of all double-deck buses, but some preventive measures can
still be taken to at least minimise some of the road accidents during
this coming holiday season.

Among them are strictly enforcing the speed limit and other traffic
laws and campaigning against drunk driving to ensure holidaymakers are
able to reach their destinations safe and sound to enjoy the water
festival with joy and happiness. Passengers should also take part by
encouraging drivers to follow the traffic rules.

Kunnawee Kanitpong is associate professor of the Transportation
Engineering Field of Study, School of Engineering and Technology, and
manager of the Thailand Accident Research Centre, Asian Institute of
Technology. Ridwan Quaium is research associate at the same
facilities.