Lack of pedestrian bridge cited as monk killed on busy Angthong road

By The Nation

 

An elderly monk was struck and killed by a pickup truck in Angthong on Monday morning – while crossing the road where a pedestrian flyover was knocked down in an accident last year.

 

The death of Phra Dej Kitwibul, 75, of Wat Mathurostiyaram, prompted residents and fellow monks to urge that the pedestrian bridge be rebuilt.

 

Police said the monk was making his alms rounds and crossing over to the Bangkok-bound lane of the Asia Highway at 5.30am when the pickup driven by Watchara Kaewmanee, 43, travelling at 100 kilometres per hour, struck him.

 

The driver said the monk appeared so suddenly that he couldn’t stop or take evasive action in time.

 

Abbot Phrakrhu Phisal Kunapinan said monks had to cross the busy road every morning to collect alms, risking their lives, ever since a bulldozer accidentally brought the pedestrian bridge down last year.

 

Resident Jiraporn Panthuwong, 39, said local people, factory workers and students also faced grave risks crossing the road and pleaded for the bridge to be rebuilt.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30336833

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-01-22

I would think that the people responsible for the destruction of the should be responsible for the cost of rebuilding the flyover. Why has nothing been done.. seems it takes a death.. and to get shamed in the news for anything to happen. 

RIP to the elderly gentleman,even when pedestrian bridges are provided many choose to ignore them unfortunately.....

Many times driving north on the route 32 I have seen pedestrians cross 2 lanes of frontage road, 4 lanes of high speed traffic, climb over the central reservation barrier and then do the same on the other side of the road.

 

Meanwhile the pedestrian bridge is some 2, 3, 400 metres away.

 

I have driven up the 3ed lane at 110km/h while cars and minibuses go past like I have the brakes on.

 

It has improved a lot over the years and many of the U-turns have been blocked and overpasses installed.

Yeap. I have a BTS line being built outside my home. Most of the footbridges have been taken down. You gotta find a designated spot to cross. And I can assure you, it's not safe. I feel bad for the elderly and people with young kids.

The majority of pedestrians behave the same way as the drivers, always prefering the shortest and convenient (for them) way. The bloody flyover is just above their heads and still prefer crossing the streets illegally, I see it all the time in Bangkok.. There is simply no hope for this lot.. In the case of the OP, I understand that the flyover may have prevented his death but even if it existed, the majority of the people would have prefered the usual shortcut (to their next lives).

 

58 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Many times driving north on the route 32 I have seen pedestrians cross 2 lanes of frontage road, 4 lanes of high speed traffic, climb over the central reservation barrier and then do the same on the other side of the road.

 

Meanwhile the pedestrian bridge is some 2, 3, 400 metres away.

 

I have driven up the 3ed lane at 110km/h while cars and minibuses go past like I have the brakes on.

 

It has improved a lot over the years and many of the U-turns have been blocked and overpasses installed.

True i have seen the same thing people going over the road while a pedestrian bridge was close. 

 

But we never see the amount of people taking those bridges and how far they walk to take them so I can't say they are never used. They should at least be there.

46 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

. I feel bad for the elderly and people with young kids.

They should move to a moobaan where it's all much better to live. At dusk and dawn they all go outside for some excercise.

Waste of funds to build pedestrian bridges as I hard see people using it. They still prefer to risk their lives instead of wasting energy going up bridges and walking few hundred meters to the nearest bridge.

48 minutes ago, shady86 said:

Waste of funds to build pedestrian bridges as I hard see people using it. They still prefer to risk their lives instead of wasting energy going up bridges and walking few hundred meters to the nearest bridge.

Be fair, have you actually seen how far some of those brides are away ? Nearest one for me to cross to get across the main road in Pattaya is about 1 km+ either way. It's very very tempting to risk the road crossing.

On the highways coming into and out of Khon Kaen the pedestrian bridges almost never get used.  Most of them are near schools or where buses/sonthaews drop the kids off.  I cringe when I see little ones running across the highways.  I've never seen a fatality, but close calls all the time.  Thai culture tolerates unsafe conditions that were eliminated long ago in western countries.

a walkover bridge, lightly used by ped'commuters; would be perfect for the Monks to use for Alms collection.

Followers could safely line the bridge, and all be peaceful, calm, and even a few meters up closer to heaven  

 

 

the only thing, apart from laziness, to scare people from using the bridge;

is if little motorcycle starts using it as a shortcut from blocked off U-Turns

(I'm ignoring where some are stepped instead of ramped)

 

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The driver said the monk appeared so suddenly that he couldn’t stop or take evasive action in time.

Yeah, 'cause 75 year olds tend to be very fast movers. Pop up out of nowhere all the time...

old guy could have entered out into street from a big car parked on the side, giving the driver no hope of reacting.

Be fair, have you actually seen how far some of those brides are away ? Nearest one for me to cross to get across the main road in Pattaya is about 1 km+ either way. It's very very tempting to risk the road crossing.

I drive regularly and I actually see people risking their lives to cross roads where zebra crossings or bridges are 1 or 200 meters away. Maybe they think traffic jam will save their lives but some rather wait 10 mins for clear traffic rather than walking to nearest bridge minutes away.

20 minutes ago, shady86 said:

2 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Be fair, have you actually seen how far some of those brides are away ? Nearest one for me to cross to get across the main road in Pattaya is about 1 km+ either way. It's very very tempting to risk the road crossing.

I drive regularly and I actually see people risking their lives to cross roads where zebra crossings or bridges are 1 or 200 meters away. Maybe they think traffic jam will save their lives but some rather wait 10 mins for clear traffic rather than walking to nearest bridge minutes away.

zebra crossings ? Every time I visit Thailand I say to my Thai wife, "waste of paint". :-)

9 minutes ago, wavemanwww said:

zebra crossings ? Every time I visit Thailand I say to my Thai wife, "waste of paint". :-)

maybe should modify the pattern, and colour; for the bars to appear like cold steel jail cell bars

2 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Yeah, 'cause 75 year olds tend to be very fast movers. Pop up out of nowhere all the time...

At 100kmph, everything comes out of nowhere.

1 hour ago, tifino said:

maybe should modify the pattern, and colour; for the bars to appear like cold steel jail cell bars

They could post a copper box with a shotgun but still drivers would ignore pedestrians, As I say, "waste of paint"

7 hours ago, robblok said:

I would think that the people responsible for the destruction of the should be responsible for the cost of rebuilding the flyover. Why has nothing been done.. seems it takes a death.. and to get shamed in the news for anything to happen. 

Or insurance 

The driver will have an awful lot of merit making to do for the rest of his life

48 minutes ago, coulson said:

At 100kmph, everything comes out of nowhere.

That was my point, it wasn't the monks fault

22 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

That was my point, it wasn't the monks fault

Not entirely his fault, but he did decide to cross a highway full of Thai drivers. 

Just now, coulson said:

Not entirely his fault, but he did decide to cross a highway full of Thai drivers. 

I'm still not blaming the victim.

5 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

I'm still not blaming the victim.

I blame the bridge 

15 minutes ago, coulson said:

I blame the bridge 

Bridge AWOL, even if not jaywalking definitely not sensible, 75 year old, a Thai driver

not a good mixture as its turned out

Paint all zebra crossings red it will save on water washing the blood away as no one ever stops for one RIP to the poor monk another casualty of inept driving .

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Resident Jiraporn Panthuwong ... pleaded for the bridge to be rebuilt.

I'm surprised they had one in the first place.

 

Thonglor is a main thoroughfare (shortcut) between Sukhumvit and Petchaburi, and with a large residential community, including numerous children, yet there isn't - and to my knowledge, never has been - a pedestrian bridge anywhere along its length.

 

Yet with reasonably adequate lighting - when they work - from bog-standard street lights, the BMA decided it could afford to spend funds on erecting (and not all that competently, at that) innumerable Victorian-style lampposts, again the length of Thonglor (and on several other roads) which are never, ever switched on.

 

Perhaps they could knock down the excess lights, flog them for scrap metal, and spend the money on safety, with the erection of at least one,  but preferably three or four, pedestrian bridges.

Surely it's his 'karma' no need for blame,