Representatives of public transport van drivers have urged the Prime Minister to cancel the new regulations which state a maximum of 13 passengers and compulsory use of seat-belts.
The new regulations were imposed under Article 44. The order was published in the Royal Gazette last Wednesday to improve the safety of vans used for public transportation.
Submitting their petition through the Public Service in Bangkok, they asked for a grace period until their current concession contracts with the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority expires.
They claimed they have insufficient funds to make many of the adjustments which are required under the new rules.
They asked for the 13-seat limit to be cancelled so their current 15-seat vans can be used legally. They also asked for the postponement on the requirement to have a GPS device installed on each van, which they claimed was unnecessary as congested traffic conditions prevent vans from speeding anyway.
They said that the requirement for all passengers to wear seat belts should be the responsibility of passengers because the vans already instruct passengers to wear seat belts.
The order authorised Land Transport Department officials to revoke or suspend the use of transport vans or the public transport licence for up to six months if an accident stems from a van driver exceeding the legal speed limit or the driver worked beyond the legal limit of driving hours. A penalty will also be imposed if the van is used for illegal activities, or passengers are overcharged.
It’s astounding that once again financial gain is being put before human safety. Surely the van drivers only have to leave two seats empty or remove them. As for seat-belts, it’s true that passengers should automatically fasten their belts but unfortunately many do not. Failure to fasten a seat-belt should result in being asked to leave the van.
As for roads being too congested to speed, the fatalities statistics because of speeding would seem to disprove that.
It would be a major surprise if the government agree to these requests and it tends to show the type of people involved for actually making them in the first place.
(Source:The Nation)