EPA
Twenty schoolchildren died on board the bus, as well as three teachers
Thailand is a country in shock: three days ago, 20 children and three teachers were killed when their bus was engulfed in flames.
It was one of the worst road accidents in the Southeast Asian country, and investigators discovered a series of safety flaws that some say effectively turned the vehicle into a “bomb on wheels.
He left the country – still mourning the loss of the 23 people on the bus – wondering how this could have happened and could it happen again?
Video taken from the bus, after the driver hit a concrete barrier and stopped, shows jets of fire shooting out from under the vehicle and turning it into an inferno within minutes, leaving passengers in the back no chance of escape. .
Investigators discovered that the bus, which had been converted to run on compressed natural gas (CNG), had six gas cylinders legally installed in the back.
But they also found five others illegally installed under the front of the bus.
The investigation revealed that a pipe coming from one of the vehicles in front broke under impact, releasing gas which started the fire. It appears that the trapped passengers were also unable to open the rear emergency exit, although the reason is not yet clear.
The government responded by ordering more than 13,000 public and private CNG-powered buses to be inspected and suspending all long-distance school trips.
But the conversion to CNG was just one of many changes made since the bus was first registered in 1970.
It was a sort of “Franken-bus”, with new bodywork added several times, and only parts of the chassis remaining from the original.
It was once a double-decker vehicle, but – when new regulations imposed height limitations on these due to their tendency to overturn in an accident – it was transformed into a single-decker vehicle .
Passengers were seated on the upper deck, with the lower deck used to accommodate all the gas cylinders. Social media users compared the bus to a bomb on wheels.
Reuters
Investigators discovered illegally installed gas cylinders after the accident
This is despite Thailand's gradual introduction over the past 15 years of bus safety regulations set by UNECE, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, a body responsible for setting international standards in many areas. But the application of these rules has been slow and piecemeal.
“The problem is that most Thai manufacturers cannot reach this level,” says Sumet Ongkittikul, a transport specialist at the Thai Development Research Institute. “The implementation was therefore delayed, to allow them to catch up.
“Moreover, the regulations only apply to new buses. But most buses operating in Thailand are old. »
Modifying old bus chassis with new bodywork is a local industry, where safety standards are mostly much lower than in many other countries.
It is estimated that at least 80% of buses connecting Thai cities are in this older, adapted category.
“A new bus, from a good manufacturer, is very expensive,” explains Sumet Ongkittikul. “So they use an old chassis and a local manufacturer to build a new body, and that is only counted as an old bus, for which the new regulations do not apply.”
For example, UNECE Regulation UN R118, which requires bus interiors to be made of non-flammable materials, was officially introduced in Thailand in 2022, but does not apply to buses manufactured before that date or to buses adapted using older chassis.
Less flammable materials could have helped mitigate Tuesday's bus fire.
And even the very limited regulations that applied to the ill-fated bus appear to have been broken.
Police say the bus was inspected in May this year, but they believe the illegal addition of gas cylinders was carried out afterwards.
Two days after the accident, police said they caught the bus owner trying to remove improperly installed gas canisters from the other five buses.
The company has had its bus driving license suspended and the owner has been charged with negligent causing death, with further criminal charges being considered.
But will this accident finally change Thailand's disastrous road safety record?
Reuters
Thailand has recorded an average of more than 17,000 road deaths each year for a decade
The country is currently on its fifth national road safety master plan, but with little progress to show.
For years, it has been in the top 10 countries with the highest number of road deaths per capita. Sometimes it's been number two.
TDRI data found that in the 10 years to 2023, an average of 17,914 people died each year as a result of road accidents.
In the United Kingdom, where the population is similar, the number of deaths is 10 times lower.
Anyone who regularly travels on Thai roads knows the dangerous behavior usually exhibited by many drivers.
Speeding is commonplace and rarely punished. Cars weave through traffic, leaving little room for error. Commercial vehicles are often overloaded, poorly designed and poorly lit. Motorcyclists generally do not wear helmets, much more so than in neighboring countries.
Some blame corruption within the police force. Others blame Buddhist belief on karma, attributing misfortunes like car accidents to bad luck rather than bad habits.
Although there are posters clearly warning of the dangers of drunk driving, no Thai government has launched a sustained road safety campaign. Some researchers believe this is because most deaths on motorcycles and public buses affect lower-income groups, not policymakers who usually drive, or are driven, in high-end cars offering high levels of security.
Getty Images
But attempts to reduce the death toll appear to have had little impact so far.
Despite all these appalling statistics, road safety is not considered an urgent issue and receives little public attention.
There have been many equally horrific accidents involving long-distance buses, but they are barely safer today than they were 10 years ago.
Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit announced the creation of a special committee to look into all aspects of road safety following Tuesday's fatal crash, but the move was met without much fanfare or enthusiasm.
If this initiative truly brings significant improvements and reduces the annual death toll, it will break the pattern of ineffective measures that have characterized almost all of Thailand's road safety efforts to date.
