After a horrific crash in Chon Buri on Monday killed 25 passengers, the government announced that it was taking measures to control passenger vans and plans to replace them with minibuses on some routes by 2019.

Dr Thanapong Jinawong, chief of the Road Safety Policy Foundation, said that while controlling passenger vans was a step in the right direction, the problem should be tackled at the root by reforming the management of transport operators.

“From our study, passenger vans that go on long-distance routes are more prone to accidents than those going short distances, because drivers are more likely to get tired when driving for long periods. Also the vans are not designed for long journeys,” Thanapong said.

“Therefore, abolishing long-distance vans is a good idea.”

While the Land Transport Department is working to install GPS devices in passenger vans, he also suggested that a speed-limit device be placed in every van to ensure safety.

“Related authorities should ensure that minibuses are safe for long-distance journeys as well, and I suggest that the management of transport operators be reformed or we will face similar issues with the minibuses,” he said.

He explained that most passenger vans are run by small operators and they pay drivers according to the number of passengers they take and the number of rounds they make. This forces drivers to spend long hours behind the wheel to make more money and this leads to accidents.

Khongsak Cheunkailat, transportation project coordinator for the Foundation for Consumers’ Safety, also hailed the government’s measures to tackle the problem and suggested that passengers themselves should monitor the speed of the vehicle to prevent accidents.

“The high number of accidents involving passenger vans is nothing new. It has been a major problem for a long time, and it’s good that the government is more serious about tackling this issue by abolishing passenger vans and replacing them with minibuses,” Khongsak said.

Speed-control devices

“However, before these vans are replaced with minibuses in 2019, the government must ensure that the existing vans are safe for passengers and that no new vans are registered,” he said.

He agreed that GPS and speed-control devices should be installed in all vehicles. This would allow passengers to warn the driver directly if he is driving too fast.

He also said that despite Thailand’s strong transportation laws, there was a problem with enforcement.

The authorities need to be stricter and transport operators should put the |safety of passengers ahead of profits, he said.

Thailand Development Research Institute’s logistics researcher Natcha O-charoen said passengers were part of the problem, as few wore safety belts during a journey.

“According to my research, only 19 per cent of van passengers in Bangkok and 47 per cent of van passengers in other provinces wear the seat belt, even though the law requires all passengers to use seatbelts during the journey,” Natcha said.

“This indicates that passengers don’t take their safety seriously and are ready to put their lives at risk. Therefore, safer transportation would begin with making passengers aware of their safety and getting operators, drivers and other road users to make safety their first priority,” Natcha added.