Horrible Bus Crash in Tainan

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
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21

[quote=“jdsmith”]My point is this: unless the hammer is repeatedly smashed into the governments’ head, they don’t waste their time thinking about the past. Make a fuss, kick up dust, and then slip out in the confusion.

What will change? Nada. Why, because AFAIK no high ranking politician or his wife was injured or killed in this crash. If there had been an “important” death, surely the bus companies would be under far more scrutiny. What we are seeing now is the dust kicking and fuss making. Soon, some celebrity’s tit will fall out of her shirt and all will be forgotten.

When it comes to preventing death on the roads, this country blows goats. :raspberry:[/quote]

It’s not just on the roads. Back in 1993, the year of the rooster some may recall, there were several air accidents. The embatteled head of the ministry of transport and aviation said something like, "it’s no surprise there are plenty of air accidents this year, as dragons like to snatch chickens (the point was that ji, or chicken was also supposed to refer to ji, as in fei ji, or plane).

HG

22

[quote=“jdsmith”]A few years ago, in Ying Ge, a truck was stopped on the railroad tracks. Ahead of him was a “T” intersection. The guys in the front couldn’t get out, the train couldn’t stop. There were no bamboo arms to come down and bloke/warn traffic.

2 dead

Not two months later, some numbskull driving a bus full of vacationing junior high kids decides to save 50NT dollars and drive the bus to Ying Ge so he can jump on the highway in SanXia. Same thing happens.

5-10 dead, can’t recall.

FINALLY they widened the road and put in bamboo poles to stop traffic when the lights and bells are sounded.

If the accidents had been a year apart, nothing would have been done.

My point is this: unless the hammer is repeatedly smashed into the governments’ head, they don’t waste their time thinking about the past. Make a fuss, kick up dust, and then slip out in the confusion.

What will change? Nada. Why, because AFAIK no high ranking politician or his wife was injured or killed in this crash. If there had been an “important” death, surely the bus companies would be under far more scrutiny. What we are seeing now is the dust kicking and fuss making. Soon, some celebrity’s tit will fall out of her shirt and all will be forgotten.

But, next year, all people in cars, everywhere, even in the back seat, MUST wear their seatbelts, because the Taichung mayor’s wife was seriously injured.

First though, the government might want to procure some money to have the police force’s heads removed from their asses. And this “crouching intellect, sphinctered brain syndrom” can easily be seen in front of ANY school in the country as Moms and dads, grandmas and grampas throw their kids on the back of scooter with no helmets, while the police stand there stopping traffic so the helmetless children can safely get on the dangerous street unprotected.

When it comes to preventing death on the roads, this country blows goats. :raspberry:[/quote]

I 100% agree sir! :bravo:

Reminds me (in a roundabout way) of the story earlier in the summer. That student who went on hunger strike because of his grades being too low. Media frenzy. Same week in the rest of the world, widely reported that Saddam Hussein was on hunger strike… no mention here.

23

I won’t despute male knowledge when it comes to cars and such…But I’m willing to bet a nice amount of money, that it wasn’t completely brake failure.

Remember time is money and money is time. So, methinks that money could also have played a factor in the driver’s need to speed.

And I read in the Apple Daily that driver was killed. That’s wrong? Was it the bus attendant?

24

bus was 18 years old, driver unqualified, 4.30 in the am…that’ll just about do it…

25

[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]It’s not just on the roads. Back in 1993, the year of the rooster some may recall, there were several air accidents. The embatteled head of the ministry of transport and aviation said something like, "it’s no surprise there are plenty of air accidents this year, as dragons like to snatch chickens (the point was that ji, or chicken was also supposed to refer to ji, as in fei ji, or plane).

HG[/quote]

The hell? What was that supposed to mean? That dragons were attacking the airplanes? I seriouly hope that guy got booted out of office shortly after that little peach of a comment.

26

No, he kept his job as I recall.

HG

27

the brakes may have failed but probably cuz of mis-use or improper maintenance .

i was on a city bus in taipei a few years ago. Crowded bus, I was standing near the driver. WE were coming down the bridge towards shung chiang road and the bus driver suddenly shouted out loud
'EVERYBODY HOLD ON WE DONT HAVE ANY BRAKES" he was smart enough to shift to a lower gear but since we were only bout 15 feet from the cars in front it wasnt enough and we PLOWED into bout 3 vehicles in front of us. A small 600cc flatnose pickup truck was sandwhiched between two vehicles and the driver was smashed into the glass. Lucky looks like he wasnt severely injured, but his face was covered in blood as his head had gone thru the windshield. the passengers jumped out of the bus and started to pull at the doors to get the truck driver out. he was taken out. and we all sat around waiting for the police and the ambulance. strangely the truck driver who was pretty hurt just casually sat on the ground waiting, not yelling or screaming in pain.

sometimes the taiwanese can be very efficient when it comes to accident management, other times very dis-orderly and other times non-involved at all.

i did witness one accident where there were some people in the crowd who had the foresight to do all the right things.

a speeding honda accord had gone across the dividing traffic island in the city of taipei and ran head on into a smaller passenger car and in fact had rolled right on top of it.

some people were trapped in the smaller car. People jumped out of their cars and the driver of the speeding accord jumped out unhurt. and the crowd just rolled his car right off the roof of the smaller car, and they started to pull the doors to get at the driver who was trapped inside.

some others started to direct traffic (including myself) and others called 119. not ten mins later the police and ambulances arrived. people were still trapped as i recall. there was this woman whos car was in the way of the arriving police cars and ambulances and incredibly she refused to drive out of the way!! I had to order her in no uncertain terms to drive her car out of the way OR ELSE !! before she complied.

brakes can fail and accidents do happen, but there has to be far better control, ESPECIALLY of commercial vehicles and drivers. that bus company should be fined about 90million taiwan dollars at least. to dis-suade illegal behavior

28

I think I didn’t see a single vehicle here in Taiwan using this technic while driving down mountains (excluding some ex-pats), no matter which size the car was, even a hughe truck with one of this enormus earthmovers which the need to repair the typhoon damage up there. The driver just stept on the brakes all the way down to Puli, I just tried to stay away from him as far as possible.
The use of cars which have to a high rate automatic gear does the rest. In Austria we call it the “the Dutch syndrom” after the guys coming from a flat country for vacation in the mountains and than “parking” there cars down the mountain after burning out their brakes. Just, these guys have no mountains, while you would think a little island with that much mountains on it would have at least some basic idea of that.

The “fine” of 90000 NT does the rest. I always thought, punishments should hurt somehow so that you get the idea. I guess my miss conception.

Anyway, I am in China now, so time to enjoy even better “traffic entertainment”, glad I survived the 40 min ride from the airport to the hotel here in Nanjing.

29

People here don’t ask enough questions.
Why?
The brakes failed.
Okay.

NO!!
It should be
Why?
The brakes failed.
Why?
They were worn out.
Why?
…

30

[quote=“SuchAFob”]People here don’t ask enough questions.
Why?
The brakes failed.
Okay.

NO!!
It should be
Why?
The brakes failed.
Why?
They were worn out.
Why?
…[/quote]

You know, they don’t need to ask this questions here because the simple answer to all this is not “no mantaniance” or “miss use” or anything like this, the basic answer to all these things here is, it was faith. (besides in the cases when suddenly somebody “important” is involved).

Reminds me again to the scenery in front of the school when I puck up my son, 9 seater mini buses heading off to some after school schools with 15 to 20 kids in there. I guess in case something happens the involved people will also stand there, cry in cameras and blame who ever else. I mean, if they dont want kids, than start using condoms or such stuff, not try to get rid of them when they are 6 to 12.

31

Hang on though. You are way over the top on this one. The seatbelt law will only require seatbelts to be worn when on the freeways or highways. Accidents in Taiwan, involving sufficiently famous people only happen on those roads, and not on the other roads that provide us with over fifty percent of all traffic fatalities.

Whatever were you thinking jdsmith :unamused: . You didn’t think for a moment that the Taiwan government recognised normal people did you? And does anyone think for an instant that Taiwanese people in general or people that post videos of themselves speeding in Taiwan will start giving a damn about anyone other than themselves when taking to the road?

My opologies to any of the few that do really give a damn about others on the road, as it is all up to you to persuade everyone else that you have a good idea and a fair moral standard. Good luck to you though, as you’ll need every ounce of it.

Oh, and that bus had at least one almost perfectly bald tyre on it, as I saw them looking at it on the news today.

VEHICLE INSPECTIONS!,VEHICLE INSPECTIONS!,VEHICLE INSPECTIONS!,VEHICLE INSPECTIONS!,VEHICLE INSPECTIONS!,VEHICLE INSPECTIONS!,VEHICLE INSPECTIONS!,VEHICLE INSPECTIONS!,VEHICLE INSPECTIONS!,VEHICLE INSPECTIONS!,VEHICLE INSPECTIONS!,VEHICLE INSPECTIONS!,

Wake up Taiwan, you lazy louts!

32

[quote=“SuchAFob”]People here don’t ask enough questions.
Why?
The brakes failed.
Okay.

NO!!
It should be
Why?
The brakes failed.
Why?
They were worn out.
Why?
…[/quote]

you think too much! :unamused:

33

the news is SO much better these days…when I got here almost 6 yrs ago, they had almost no censorship…they didn’t even blur out faces of corpses or suspects. I remember the cameras going INTO the hospital and reporters opening curtains and showing doctors performing CPR on patients.

Also watched this old man trying to escape a fire, but after almost 30 mins the flames got to him and he died. Even showed his body afterwards…better even the fire 2 yrs ago where reporters filmed people falling to the ground just to raise their cameras up afterwards to film the next one falling.

dooon’t even think of helping. Not that it’s their job…but still.

34

[quote=“Battery9”]the news is SO much better these days…when I got here almost 6 yrs ago, they had almost no censorship…they didn’t even blur out faces of corpses or suspects. I remember the cameras going INTO the hospital and reporters opening curtains and showing doctors performing CPR on patients.

Also watched this old man trying to escape a fire, but after almost 30 mins the flames got to him and he died. Even showed his body afterwards…better even the fire 2 yrs ago where reporters filmed people falling to the ground just to raise their cameras up afterwards to film the next one falling.

don’t even think of helping. Not that it’s their job…but still.[/quote]

these newsmen are sort of like the animal documentary makers who watch say a baby elephant trapped by lions and dont lend a hand (because they dont want to interfere with nature). Which i think is bullshit. IF i see a baby elephant trapped by lions (now i understand lions gotta eat but) i aint gonna stand by. IM gonna see if i got firecrackers or something. im gonna interfere with nature !! let the lions go hunt down game thats more available, and not baby animals. etc.

i know that this subject may be controversial, but i think i would exercise my “right” to interfere if i see fit.

and journalists should do what they can to help another human being in trouble. They didnt help either when diana was dying in the tunnel in paris. (by the way THE QUEEN is not a bad movie) and kept taking pictures.

35

Thank you for clearing that up.

However, since the back seat seatbelts are not shoulder straps, I doubt that many people will be wearing them, and even if they aren’t, how will the police know, standing on the rear side of the toll booth looking the wrong direction…with their heads up their asses.

:raspberry:

36

Thank you for clearing that up.

However, since the back seat seatbelts are not shoulder straps, I doubt that many people will be wearing them, and even if they aren’t, how will the police know, standing on the rear side of the toll booth looking the wrong direction…with their heads up their asses.

:raspberry:[/quote]

And how will they check that all taxis haven’t still got the buckles hidden under the back seat, so that we can’t use them at all?

I’m thinking about just calling taxis to a stop and telling them one after another, that “Sorry, I don’t want to ride in thier as it is too dangerous for me to risk my life in there, due to the rear seatbelts being thoughtlessly stowed away, so no one can use them.”

37

It’s about time the government introduces some more high tech and control systems in the buses and trucks … In Europe they have now speedlimiters, magnetic and oil break systems and most important tachographs … a system that enables law enforcement to check on driving speeds and times for the last 24 hours … it used to be paper discs to be put in the odometer/tachograph, but now they are going computerized (blackbox)
… and a decent vehicle inspection system …

Taiwan is a ‘developed’ country … isn’t it?

38

[quote=“belgian pie”]It’s about time the government introduces some more high tech and control systems in the buses and trucks … In Europe they have now speedlimiters, magnetic and oil break systems and most important tachographs … a system that enables law enforcement to check on driving speeds and times for the last 24 hours … it used to be paper discs to be put in the odometer/tachograph, but now they are going computerized (blackbox)
… and a decent vehicle inspection system …

Taiwan is a ‘developed’ country … isn’t it?[/quote]

It seems to be de-evolving at times

39

As a person I am horrified, but not surprised that such accidents happens, and as a parent, I just can’t stop thinking of all the school arranged bus tours my kids has been on.

How can a parent ensure the equipment and operator safety from the company the school rent the buses?
First step I think would be to insist the the PTA require maintenance reports for the buses and documented license training for the drivers. Would that be feasible?

40

Oh, and I forgot … on-route, surprise inspections on tyres and other …