The Transport Ministry plans to strictly control passenger vans and replace them with buses after the horrific accident in Chon Buri on Monday resulted in 25 fatalities.
The Bangkok-bound minivan from Chanthaburi province ran into a pickup truck loaded with passengers and both vehicles burst into flames, killing 14 people in the van and 11 in the pickup.
Two passengers survived the crash.
Reportedly, the van driver had only one hour of rest after returning from a trip to Bangkok.
From the preliminary examination of the case, it was found that the van had just passed inspection last September and there was no problem with the engine and gas tanks.
S it is reasonable to assume that the accident might have been caused by the driver’s fatigue or speeding, but this still has to be confirmed.
Tighter regulations will be issued and the number of passenger vans crossing provincial borders will be reduced by 2019 and replaced with buses.
Drivers will have to comply with a rule to rest one hour after every four hours on the road and attend a traffic course every six months to ensure that they remember traffic rules and exercise good driving etiquette.
The Transport Ministry is now campaigning to get the van operators to install GPS in their vehicles, so drivers can be tracked and regulated.
Police are still working to investigate the accident, but the preliminary indication was that it was caused by the exhaustion of the driver.
From the inspection at the scene, there was no sign that the driver tried to stop the van and it was not in a dangerous section, so it appears that the driver dozed off, causing the van to lose direction and hit the pickup truck.
This indicates that the driver was reckless and his alcohol blood level will be tested. The van driver was 64 years old and had only a one-hour break after returning from Bangkok to Chantaburi, so the lack of proper rest and his age could have caused the accident.
The van driver started working at 4am on Sunday and drove five roundtrips between Chantaburi and Bangkok within a 31-hour period during the holiday season.
The van had also been equipped with three NGV tanks, which exploded after the collision.
The number of accidents and fatalities continues to rise despite the efforts of authorities to make drivers more careful and responsible.
