Phuket officials target deadly overloaded trucks

Shela Riva

 

 

PHUKET: Officials from the Phuket office of the Department of Rural Roads (DRR) today (Dec 13) set up a weigh station checkpoint at an intersection where a 31-year-old woman was killed and her 3-year-old son left injured by an overloaded cement truck in August.

 

Department of Rural Roads officials are stopping and checking large trucks using small backroads in central Phuket. Photo: DRR

The intersection, locally known as the “Baan Ya junction”, is at the junction of Rural Road 4015 and Soi Ban Bang Jo Nobthakaew in Moo 4, Srisoonthorn, Thalang.

 

“We are checking the weight of big trucks with six wheels or more to ensure that they are not overloaded,” said Phuket DRR Deputy Chief Teeradech Kumleang.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-officials-target-deadly-overloaded-trucks-65124.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2017-12-14

The most frequent offenders are pickup trucks loaded with 50 bags of rice or whatever - pickup trucks (eg Chev Colorado) are built to haul approximately 700 kg (about 18 bags of rice). Brakes, suspension, and tires are not designed for heavier loads therefore they become unsafe.  

2 hours ago, Prairieboy said:

The most frequent offenders are pickup trucks loaded with 50 bags of rice or whatever - pickup trucks (eg Chev Colorado) are built to haul approximately 700 kg (about 18 bags of rice). Brakes, suspension, and tires are not designed for heavier loads therefore they become unsafe.  

Don't forget these Water Pickups with a 2000-liter-tank in the back.

Overloaded trucks with no maintenance on the Patong hill???  Scary!  How many accidents and deaths per year there?  One reason I would never live in Patong.  Going in and out via Karon & Surin is not much better either.

38 minutes ago, hkt83100 said:

Don't forget these Water Pickups with a 2000-liter-tank in the back.

All with adjusted suspension. Brakes though I very much doubt.

39 minutes ago, stevenl said:

All with adjusted suspension. Brakes though I very much doubt.

 

Yes, all have beefed up suspension and wider stronger tyres.  Nothing can be easily done to improve brakes. And these guys all drive very fast.

..... or overloaded 'school buses' ..... six on the back 'step'  and  front wheels just touching the road ....  

 

This road has become a real rat run ( I use it myself). The problem is with the ascents, descents and tight (blind) bends its quite common to see Somchai hurtling towards you on the wrong side of the road.

9 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

Overloaded trucks with no maintenance on the Patong hill???  Scary!  How many accidents and deaths per year there?  One reason I would never live in Patong.  Going in and out via Karon & Surin is not much better either.

Errrr- this road is nowhere near Patong.

They should do this all over the country for anything commercial, save lives and enormous wear on the roads. 

There's a perminate one near me but all the commercial vehicles are in the right lane jamming up traffic. It's staffed but hardly ever see it used, or maybe it's just an airconned room for playing on phones. 

22 hours ago, stevenl said:

All with adjusted suspension. Brakes though I very much doubt.

And the tires!  They also have a load limit!

13 hours ago, Psimbo said:

Errrr- this road is nowhere near Patong.

A weighing station does not check just vehicles driving to the corner store.  Phuket is not big.  It is one small step for Phuket.  One giant step for road safety in Patong and everywhere else on the hilly parts of the island.

13 hours ago, Psimbo said:

This road has become a real rat run ( I use it myself). The problem is with the ascents, descents and tight (blind) bends its quite common to see Somchai hurtling towards you on the wrong side of the road.

TIT!!!!  Safer at night.  You can see each other's headlights.  555. Scary stuff on some/all mountain highways.

It will be like the talking on phone while driving ban, lasted about a week then they forgot about it.

Much easier to set up road blocks and charge tourists for not wearing a helmet and no license, have not seen many of them around lately either, there was a article in a major newspaper by a senior police officer telling the BIB to stop this practice of catching tourists and fining them

Still see them checking for licenses and helmets at Chalong circle though which is a fair enough practice and just part of the traffic police duties there 

9 hours ago, madmax2 said:

It will be like the talking on phone while driving ban, lasted about a week then they forgot about it.

Much easier to set up road blocks and charge tourists for not wearing a helmet and no license, have not seen many of them around lately either, there was a article in a major newspaper by a senior police officer telling the BIB to stop this practice of catching tourists and fining them

Still see them checking for licenses and helmets at Chalong circle though which is a fair enough practice and just part of the traffic police duties there 

At Chalong circle and other places on the island, just 2 days ago backroad Rawai-Kata.

 

Everybody gets stopped and fined if applicable.