OFF THE Beaten Track
JESSADA TANDHASETTI
This week's column is the final of a three-part series done with an eye on the recent election for the Bangkok governor.
I sincerely hope that the new governor - actually the incumbent in his second term - would get his head down and do something worthwhile and make the city more liveable, even if the issue was not on the mind of voters when they re-elected him.
There are his supporters who claim that this governor is the best of the crop given his management skills and integrity. I don't have information on that, so I won't judge him.
But from what my kin, friends and acquaintances have told me, the governor won most of his votes because of his personality, good manners (actions and words), political affiliation, re'sume' and positive image.
All I want to say is that the man did not win because he made the city of Bangkok a more pleasant and appealing place to live in, even though I too voted for him.
Since he is in his second term, I'd like to take this opportunity to bring forth a list of requests that deal with and without the automobile.
First, the air around Bangkok is contaminated with particles toxic and non-toxic. There is dust from exhaust pipes of buses that have had very little engine maintenance, but there is no evidence why police authorities continue to turn a blind eye to this predicament.
The police do not inspect or apprehend such vehicles. I ask, why are we still paying our tax money to the state? We are breathing in these particles into our lungs and falling sick as we speak.
From an economic perspective, billions of baht is being spent on treating respiratory ailments inflicting the population caused by environmental pollution.
There are other hazardous particles that originate from sources other than automobiles. People fall sick from dust particles, too. The content is the same as stone but very small in size and mass. They float in the air.
Regulations on lorries that carry stones or sand must be enforced at all times. The contents should not be allowed to fall off lorries down onto the road or spawn dust clouds.
There was a time when authorities cracked down on trucks that failed to comply with the stated standards of "hygiene" but it lasted only a few months. I am asking the governor why this initiative has all but disappeared?
Trucks and lorries that haul concrete, earth and sand must be cleaned before hitting the tarmac. It's not expensive. Just be firm, conduct inspections and penalise those who don't comply.
Usually when authorities start cracking down, the required changes will translate into traffic police receiving extra income from bribes because the latter will be asked to turn a blind eye from inspecting and penalising the trucks. Thais call this as "kicking pork meat into a dog's mouth".
The earth that falls down onto roads is trampled by passing vehicles turning it into fine dust particles which eventually find their way into our lungs.
If the earth or stone pieces are too, then vehicles avoid them and what Bangkok has are "small islands" in the middle of the tarmac.
Secondly, the one-way street signs which I have protested against once too often.
It's not strange that Bangkok has too many one-way streets. It might be a world record because you never know which streets are one-way due to a lack of signs.
It's dangerous for Bangkok motorists who might have to learn the hard way as to which streets are one-way and which are not.
There are two types of people who fall into this category. The first type are those who really don't know and drive straight into a one-way street before being reprimanded by incoming traffic.
I sympathise with this type. They really don't know. And the incoming traffic really doesn't bother to tell them that it's a one-way street.
The second type are motorists who deliberately break the law and drive into one-way streets. They play stupid, so to speak, because they want to use a shorter route or are simply very selfish.
Some are blatantly ignorant; they put on the hazard lights and just drive into the one-way street.
There is a third request (the last, due to limited space) is for the governor to crack down on illegal parking.
Introduce sufficient wheel locks and modify police motorcycles so they can accommodate more locks, and manage tow-trucks more efficiently.
Cars that park and block traffic should be towed away immediately.
Train policemen to understand that once a tow-truck is called, there should be no leniency or negotiation on behalf of the illegally-parked car.
It defeats the purpose if the car owner runs to his car and starts to apologises as if nothing happened at all.
If the tow-truck is called, then the car must be towed to the police station. A penalty must be paid. And for good measure, a wheel lock must be used before the tow truck arrives.
Jessada Tandhasetti is former department head of automotive engineering studies at Rangsit University. He holds a master's degree in automotive engineering from Technical University, Berlin, Germany.
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