“Pichet”, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, invites all sectors to integrate laws and find measures to prevent repeated road tragedies, aims to reduce road fatalities every year, urges the overhaul of regulations, adjusts public transportation standards, but opposes the termination of educational tours.
Mr. Pichet Chueamuangphan, First Vice President of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the Accident Prevention and Reduction Committee to create road safety in Thailand, announced that from the tragic incident that occurred yesterday (October 1st) where a school bus of students from Uthai Thani Province had an accident and caught fire, he would like to express his condolences to the family and the people of Uthai Thani Province. He believes that as the House of Representatives, there are many issues that need to be addressed, especially regulations, laws, and industrial standards. As Chairman of the Accident Prevention and Reduction Committee, he aims to reduce losses because each year
, 17,000-20,000 people lose their lives due to road accidents. Therefore, this committee will try to reduce accidents and the number of losses every year. On October 25th, the committee will invite more than 50 relevant government agencies to discuss and integrate measures to prevent and solve problems together.
Mr. Pichet said that what needs to be considered is public vehicles such as taxis, vans and buses, which are vehicles that need to be taken care of carefully. Taxis have a lifespan of 7 years, while vans can be exempted up to 10 years. As for buses, the requirements for use must be the same as taxis, not vehicles that are 50 years old and then modified with new components. Therefore, there must be industrial standards, such as the notification of registration of assembled vehicles that have multiple parts assembled and registered, which must have standards. The Ministry of Transport must create new automotive industry standards that are higher than this, not just passing the components. The highest s
tandards that must be set are for children and youth. When going on field trips across provinces, it must be checked whether there is a leading vehicle or not, and how fast the vehicle is driven, which must be strict.
The House of Representatives, as the legislator, must be strict and use this tragedy as an important lesson to improve the standard of vehicle usage on the road and its service life. From now on, in the Bangkok area, there must be timely fire extinguishing. When an accident occurs on the road, there must be standard fire extinguishing equipment on the vehicle and it must be done quickly. Therefore, when the relevant agencies are called, they will emphasize fire extinguishing drones because sometimes tall buildings or on the road cannot be reached to extinguish the fire in time. Therefore, the use of fire extinguishing drones in the capital must be promoted, including checking the condition of vehicles that will be used for educational trips. It is not just children, but also the general public.
If traveling across provinces in remote areas, the vehicles should be checked to meet the standards and there should be a process to strictly follow the law, such as having a lead vehicle. Because if a loss like this occurs, it is not worth it. We have children and grandchildren, so we would like to express our deepest condolences.
As for the social trend to cancel the field trip, Mr. Pichet said that field trips should not be canceled because it is a process that will enhance knowledge and experience. Whether students or the general public need to travel, there will probably be a discussion on October 25 to find common measures. Legal measures will be rushed because it is considered important before another accident occurs. The key point is the law that will be enforced on business operators.
Source: Thai News Agency