The terrible part of this is the tragedy could have been avoided if the transport company that owned the bus, Srisanguan Yarnyont Company Limited, had maintained the ageing vehicle and kept it in good working order.

Even if the bus had not been properly maintained and the braking system broke down along the way, as it appears this ill-fated bus did, the driver, who was supposed to be responsible for passengers' safety, could have refused to drive the vehicle with its malfunctioning brakes.

When a fire broke out suddenly on the bus, a better-trained driver or a quick-thinking bus conductor could have stopped the vehicle and helped evacuate passengers quickly and safely through the door and emergency exits, by making use of readily-available tools on board such as an axe or hammer. Most of those who died on the bus, which was travelling from the Northeastern province of Yasothon to Bangkok, could have been saved.

According to police investigators, the driver stopped the vehicle a few times along the way to try to fix the vehicle's braking problem before continuing his journey. However, the fire, which started from one of the tyres with faulty brakes, spread to the engine and then quickly engulfed the interior of the bus. Because the vehicle was so old - first registered in 1971 and in continuous service since then - questions also have arisen about the effectiveness of transport authorities' annual roadworthiness inspections meant to ensure transport safety.

Yearly inspections are supposed to enable authorities to screen out ageing vehicles that are no longer considered safe. Police investigators must look into the annual safety inspection records of the bus in question to see if inspections were carried out according to transport safety standards.

Apart from the meagre compensation package - Bt100,000 for each of those who died and Bt50,000 for each person injured in the accident - families and loved ones of the victims must be encouraged to sue the transport company for punitive damages for having neglected to make passenger safety its top priority.

In this case, punitive damages are not meant to compensate for the lives lost or the injuries incurred. Rather, they could be sought to make an example out of an unscrupulous operator of transport services and deter others in the business from pursuing the same course of action - if they seek to maximise profits at the expense of passenger safety.

Any operator found by courts to have failed to observe these rules should be made to pay substantial punitive damages to the victims or their families.

The tragic loss of life, the grievous injuries suffered by victims of this accident and the subsequent suffering of many families affected by the crash must not be in vain. This should serve as an occasion for society to reflect on ways to improve public safety.

Operators of all transport companies must be required not only to provide their employees with adequate training on passenger safety but also to provide bus drivers with good working conditions, as well as maintain their fleets in good working condition, in compliance with transport safety laws and regulations.

It may well be true that all types of accidents can occur anywhere in the world, and deaths and injuries caused by transport mishaps, due to human error, mechanical failures or some combination of the two, are fairly common. But state authorities and the general public must be reminded that most transport mishaps can be avoided if there is a system to ensure that all companies adhere to necessary standards.