tartempion

MEL1, on 2012-03-29 10:36:42, said:

You certainly have the qualifications and real world experience to asses the lack of seriousness of authorities in safe guarding their own citizens. It seems that the only thing that powers that be are truly interested is revenue for the government and their own.
In my primary field of endeavor Thailand in the West is labeled as a country that is yet to be a serious country. From direct and real experience I know that patients in emergency wards are treated differently as far as quality and promptness regardless of the nature of said emergency. If they have private insurance they will be treated promptly. If not, they have to wait until they have nothing to do, then, they are attended to but in a limited and basic scale.
At all levels the obsession is price, not quality, not even value, which is an alien concept to this way of life.
For as long as the 49% of investors continue pumping the tills of the government, all those ills in industry and daily life tragedies will continue. Thailand is not a serious country, How can it be when minors driving vehicles of hi-so parents can cause accidents resulting in deaths of innocent travelers in mini vans and no one is held responsible and/or penalized? How can it be when police and citizens see the riding of motorcycles on sidewalks (destined to afford safety to pedestrians) as a normal occurrence? How can it be when corruption continues thriving from street levels to public officials? I recall seen the same status quo in banana republics in Africa and Latin America. The momentum that Thailand has attained since the 90s can be gradually lost and probably never to be regained as the dynamics of this world nowadays are totally different.
Me worried? The ones at the top of power heap will say. Not for as long their bloated salaries should continue flowing into their accounts, at home and overseas.

It is sad, of course. But when is Thailand going to grow up regarding passenger and car safety.

I worked in the car industry for 20 years, as a chief designer and safety consultant.

I will advise that these Isuzu pick up trucks, we all know them, are incredibly unsafe in crash situations. The front cab, and rear stowage space are two separate entities, not linked in any structural format way, apart from being seated on a long chassis which will twist and crumple unaccordingly to any impact; front, rear or side impact, and the cab has no strengthening struts whatsoever.

The Toyota vans are made of inferior steels, as are the Isuzus, and have no chance of sustaining impact which pertains to console safety.

Added to that, and until these matters of construction are made illegal, when will Thai authorities realise that 264 people in the back of a truck is a huge safety issue? Would it be seen in the west? - NO WAY! You'd be stopped 100m down the road!

The manufacturers put a big 3.0Ltr engine in these fatal traps, and away you go - no problems..... so they think!

I saw a scrape in a garage, filling station, where at 5mph a Nissan was scraped by an Isuzu 4x4. The Nissan was untouched, but the Isuzu was crumpled to pieces all along one side. It made me shudder, as once the paperwork had been exchanged, 10 got into the Isuzu and off he went, like a cheetah chasing a gazelle.

Until Thailand realises that FMVSS and Euro-Ncap are standards for specific reasons, i.e. passenger safety, we will continue to read about these sad losses.

Thailand needs to create its own crash, safety, and occupant laws to reduce or eliminate such crashes as these. However, they just don't have the knowledge, nor seem to want it - as in most other areas of safety.

How sad!

-mel.

Artisi, on 2010-09-24 07:18:38, said:

10 days? no way! that's not going to be fair, the death penalty is what is really needed, even for a 5 minutes delay, but i am confident they will introduce this soon as we are already moving in a coherent and right way, also a work permit for any action a foreigner got to take while here is another move for improvements, you lift an arm? that's work! you breathe? that's working! you are walking without a thai person making your legs move for you? you ale a climinal! you want to stay here? than get your paperworks (and money) sorted, there is a plane leaving every hour otherways  

IanForbes, on 2010-09-17 17:15:04, said:

Ian's post reminds me of this quote, and I'm paraphrasing: Life is like a game of chess. You are free to make the first move. Subsequent moves are predicated on the earlier moves. You cannot escape the consequences of your actions.

To be fair, the OP said at the outset that he's is not looking for sympathy. Some negative posts have made him understandably defensive and in an effort to justify his actions/defend his honor, he has gone on to air more of his personal dirty laundry, much of which goes way beyond the intention of his opening post.

OP's made some regrettable choices, but they were HIS choices. After a rough ride, it's understandable that he feels entitled to seek comfort in the arms of a genuinely good Thai woman. However, even this choice, I fear, is compounding his problems. If the UK courts are indeed as father-unfriendly as he describes, his six months in notorious whore-monger heaven (as Thailand will no doubt be depicted by his wife's lawyer) will not help his case when it comes to his children.

When you're in the midst of a personal crisis, it's difficult to see or think straight, but that's exactly the time when you need that capacity. I genuinely feel for the OP, but he's hardly in an existential crisis and the solutions to his problems lie mostly  with himself. The OP has to be his own best friend and saviour and to help himself: stop drinking so as to think straight, do some serious self-appraisal, take responsibility for his actions and choices, stop looking for someone else to blame (even if there really *is* someone else to blame), decide on one important goal and set himself on the road to that goal without distractions.

Buck up, good luck and get to it.

Piengrudee, on 2010-09-14 12:27:51, said:

Somehow I accidently clicked on you for positive reputation for this post when I didnt mean too ......so thats left me with no other option other than to post to tell you to grow up.

Mods please edit that GREENIE, at once

Whats The Strangest Thing You've Ever Seen Here? It must be the army killing Red-shirts; because it is NOT possible at all, as the army are instructed NOT to shoot using REAL bullets.

Quote

Tends to demonstrate the fear tactics annd BS the reds have been using subjigate those they say they support.