Public-transport passengers are uninsured, the quality of drivers is low and proper safety standards for public vehicles do not exist, transport experts said yesterday.

Moreover, only a mere 7 per cent of public-bus drivers had any professional training before becoming a licensed driver, said Assoc Prof Pichai Taneerananon, of Prince of Songkla University's accident research centre, citing a recent study of 235 bus drivers from all regions.

The rest had learned to drive on their own.

Most of them became drivers by being a driver's assistant - whose duty was not driving at all - then filling in when the real driver was absent, said Pichai.

About one in three of the studied drivers had been involved in at least one accident while behind the wheel, while 20 per cent had been in several.

Nearly half the drivers had only attended primary school, while the other half graduated from high school or the equivalent, said Pichai.

"This reflects very well how little attention we've paid to the qualifications of those who take care of so many lives on the road," he added.

As for the passengers, he said, 76 per cent admitted to feeling unsafe while travelling on buses, which they regarded as the cheapest way of travel. But as most of them were in the low income category they didn't have much choice in the matter. Although motorcycles were responsible for the highest number of general road accidents, public buses were most frequently involved in single-vehicle accidents, said Sattrawut Ponboon, a researcher with the Thailand Accident Research Centre.

Official figures showed public transport accidents cost between Bt7 and Bt8 billion in losses a year, said Pichai, adding that although the majority of accidents involved public buses in Bangkok and the suburbs, figures from upcountry were on the rise.

Investigations into the latest tragic bus accident that killed 30 passengers in Saraburi found that the Department of Land Transport's safety standard regulations were far too vague and general, said Asst Prof Somprasong Suttayamully, principal investigator of the Suranaree University of Technology's Accident Investigation Unit.

Further more, there was no punishment for violators stated in the regulations, he said, adding: "How can we call this a safety standard?"

While waiting for the department to draft a "real set of safety standards" for public transport, it was crucial for the department to control and regulate those garages which offer bus modifications.

Arthit Khwankhom

The Nation