Death waits in lax law enforcement

Another public-transport nightmare struck on Sunday when an overcrowded boat capsized on the Chao Phraya River in Ayutthaya, leaving 28 people dead, including many children and elderly people, and 43 others injured.

Initial investigation found that the boat was carrying twice the number of passengers for which it was licensed and the captain’s own licence was expired. Attempting to overtake a slow barge in a river bend, he allegedly lost control and the vessel collided with a submerged concrete pillar. The high death toll was also blamed on a shortage of life vests on board.

The skipper was charged with recklessness causing death and injury, operating a boat carrying more passengers than permitted, and having a lapsed licence.

The passengers were Muslim pilgrims travelling home to Nonthaburi after attending a religious ceremony in the neighbouring upriver province. Perhaps many thought that, since the journey was short, there was no need for lifejackets. It was a tragic error in judgement. Many of the dead victims were children and the elderly occupying the lower deck of the double-decker. In any such situation, children and older passengers should be made to wear safety vests, as well as anyone who can’t swim.

Government Spokesman Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd announced that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had instructed the state agencies involved to make sure all boat operators and skippers have valid permits and that all passenger boats have sufficient lifejackets and rescue equipment in case of emergency. These are basic precautions, already compulsory under the law, to ensure the safety of boat journeys, but they are often ignored by both the business operators and the pertinent government authorities.

The central problem here is that the safety regulations are all too seldom enforced, including on passenger boats, where overcrowding is common. Just like its civilian predecessors, the military-run post-coup government has failed to address such chronic lapses in safety in public transport. Thailand has ample laws and regulations regarding the safe operation of waterborne public transport, but enforcement remains appalling lax.

Marine Department director-general Sorasak Saensombat said his agency would convene a meeting of boat-service operators in a bid to drive home the need for absolute passenger safety. He also promised more frequent inspections of passenger boats – once every three months rather than the current rate of twice a year – in order to ensure they meet the required standards. It can only be hoped that the enthusiasm about getting tougher with business operators isn’t a temporary stopgap to curtail criticism and doesn’t fade along with the current public outrage.

For now, the authorities are providing medical and financial assistance to the victims of the disaster and taking legal action against those evidently responsible, including the boat captain and his employer. Far sterner measures should follow if we are to increase the safety of public transport on rivers and roads alike and avoid witnessing further needless loss of life.

Citizens can help avert tragedy on the waterways by ensuring that their children know how to swim and are aware they must take basic precautions when travelling by boat. Everyone, in fact, should be exercising common sense aboard watercraft, rather than apathetically leaving it to others to protect them. And they should be ready to warn fellow passengers about possible risks or risky behaviour.

Let this latest awful tragedy serve as a costly lesson for all of us, as well as an opportunity for those in position to improve public transport bring about changes so that passengers are always as safe as possible.