Senator Wuttichai’ proposes urgent motion on fire in educational tour bus, emphasizing monitoring and inspection of safety standards. If any illegal inspection is found, legal action should be taken. Recommends that the Department of Land Transport list vehicles providing services for the elderly and students.
Mr. Wuttichai Kalyanamitra, a member of the Senate, spoke about the motion for guidelines to prevent, resolve, and provide assistance and compensation for the damage caused by the fire incident on the field trip bus, saying that the main issue is probably no different from the House of Representatives, which previously raised an urgent motion regarding concerns over the accident. Today, it is a suggestion to the government on what measures to take to deal with the loss, including determining the appropriateness of the students who went on the field trip to be able to help themselves, as well as many other approaches.
As for the serious approach to solving this problem, Mr. Wuttichai believes that saf
ety standards of each responsible agency are already quite strict, but there is a lack of follow-up. For example, after inspections, there should be follow-up inspections every 2 months, 3 months, not waiting for the deadline to come back and inspect again. There should also be training for service providers who should provide knowledge to passengers, similar to the case of flight attendants who provide advice before the flight.
Mr. Wuttichai mentioned about the avoidance of inspection when the car went to remove the gas tank in Nakhon Ratchasima Province that this is an issue such as the safety standard that requires installing 3-4 tanks but installing more lacks safety and the inspection and monitoring measures are important. The Department of Land Transport already has special inspections, so it has to look at the inspection at the origin or the destination. But what I am comfortable with is that the Department of Land Transport has scheduled the car for inspection but the car was taken to remove the gas
tank in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. There is GPS that can track the situation immediately.
As for the inspection of the vehicle that had the gas tank removed, which made the officers unable to see, would it make the inspection more difficult? Mr. Wuttichai said that if we look at it positively, it is like that, but if we look at it from another perspective, it is a conspiracy, such as when we were inspecting, there was only this much, but when we went through the inspection, we added more.
As for whether this is a lax measure by the Department of Land Transport officials, Mr. Wuttichai said that we must emphasize the measures that must be taken seriously in the matter of fake inspections. If fake inspections really occur, they must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This afternoon (October 7), the Senate Transport Committee raised issues with the relevant agencies that were invited to provide clarification on the matter of requesting cooperation and helping to emphasize safety.
“If today it wa
s your children who were responsible, what would you think? If it was your children’s loss, we must help create awareness about these things,” said Mr. Wuttichai.
Mr. Wuttichai also commented on the proposal to cancel the field trip, saying that it was a solution to the problem at the end. In reality, the problem must be looked at at the root. If there were good safety standards, he believed that this issue would not have happened. In this matter, there may have been panic and confidence must be built. Most recently, the Department of Land Transport had to call all the vehicles in for inspection. However, it is expected that today’s urgent motion debate will have many people signing up to debate because it is a matter of public interest. Before the meeting opens, there will be a standing in mourning for the deceased in the incident.
Mr. Wuttichai also said that as the chairman of the Transport Committee, he emphasized that many issues of doubt today (October 7) will be raised at the Department of Land Trans
port, especially the inspection of vehicle inspection standards. As someone who has worked with the Department of Transport for a long time, he raised that the Transport Company will not have any problems with safety standards, except in cases where some people zigzag and modify later, causing them to lack safety standards. At the same time, following the safety standards set by the government is the responsibility of the operator, which is considered an important matter. It is a sense of conscience. Asking back, if one day it was your child or relative who was sitting in the car, how would you feel? He emphasized that in terms of safety in using public transportation services, knowledge must be provided before traveling, such as traveling by plane, where there will be officers to explain the use of tools and equipment in case of an emergency. He personally wants to have a list of service providers, school buses or services for the elderly, who are used as taxis, and should have good standards.
‘Let the Depa
rtment of Transport list which companies provide services to the elderly or students. List how many types there are. I think it would help. On the day of an accident, if the emergency door can be opened or someone knows which glass can be broken, if there is a hammer to break the glass, they can break it and jump out of the window. It is better than dying like this,’ said Mr. Wuttichai.
Source: Thai News Agency