Tour bus driver loses head, 34 injured, family in lucky escape in horror smash

[webfact]

Tour bus driver loses head, 34 injured, family in lucky escape in horror smash

 

Picture: Daily News

 

A tour bus bound from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani slammed into the back of a ten wheel truck in Saraburi last night. It is suspected that the driver fell asleep at the wheel.

 

The driver of the "Ubon Air" tour bus was decapitated and 34 passengers were injured. Two are in ICU.

 

The ten wheel truck ended up on its side crushing a family of six in a pick-up. They all survived without injury.

 

The bus had left Mo Chit 2 bus station at 9.30pm with 41 passengers including several children.

 

As traffic slowed to go over the bridge connecting Pahonyothin Road and the Friendship Highway the tour bus rammed into the back of the ten wheeler carrying a full load of grocery items. 

 

The tour bus made no attempt to brake. 

 

Rescue workers had to smash windows to help passengers get out. 

 

Daily News described a grisly scene at the front of the bus. The head of driver Attaphon Ekkapong, 38, from Ubon had come loose and fallen down in the bus. 

 

His limbs were also detached and his internal organs were splattered over the front of the vehicle. 

 

Co-driver Waitoon Rotjai, 40, said he was asleep and woke only when there was impact. 

 

Khomsan Chertchu, 38, the truck driver from Ubon said he had slowed to enter the bridge. On his right was the pick-up. 

 

Bunjan Ob-un, 50, said he and a total of six family members were going to a wedding up-country. He said it was very lucky that they were not all killed. 

 

Pol Capt Sarot Ratanawirot of the Muang Saraburi police said there were no skid marks on the road surface. He is working on the assumption at this stage that the tour bus driver fell asleep at the wheel. 

 

Two women are in ICU in Saraburi Hospital. They were named as Primat Phuangjan and Earn Siripong. 

 

Ten men, 20 women and two children were treated for minor injuries. 

 

Source: Daily News

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-03-15

[darksidedog]

Time for tachographs to be fitted on every heavy vehicle and all public transport with restricted hours set in law for driving. Drivers falling asleep at the wheel continuously from driving too many hours, causing terrible accidents. This one will not be doing it again, and incredibly lucky his was the only life lost.

[edwinchester]

"The head of driver Attaphon Ekkapong, 38, from Ubon had come loose and fallen down in the bus."

 

The death of anyone deserves better reporting than this crap.

 

[petermik]

Just another (sadly) typical occurrence on the roads here....

[KarlS]

In the original Thai article, the report is even more graphic.

It would seem The Daily News rejects the norms of ethical reporting

[colinneil]

Sadly this will continue to happen until proper restricted driving hours are implemented.

Also what is wrong with reporters having to go into detail about what happened to the drivers body, sick bar steward who made this report.

[Nyezhov]

18 minutes ago, edwinchester said:

"The head of driver Attaphon Ekkapong, 38, from Ubon had come loose and fallen down in the bus."

 

The death of anyone deserves better reporting than this crap.

 

Like why? Because its graphic? Thats what the Thai reading public wants and expects.

 

As to the incident itself, about 20 years ago or so I was in a place called Pump Station in Pattaya and talking to a young, very articulate in English gal from Udon who told me never to ride the Night Busses as they are dangerous. Ive always followed that advice. When I go anywhere here, its one of 4 choices:

 

1. Fly 

2. Train

3. Day Bus

4. Minivan/Car

 

or Stay home.

[toenail]

This “news reporter” gets an “A” for descriptive writing. Has the writer thought of writing for cinema? 

[Bob12345]

4 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Time for tachographs to be fitted on every heavy vehicle and all public transport with restricted hours set in law for driving. Drivers falling asleep at the wheel continuously from driving too many hours, causing terrible accidents. This one will not be doing it again, and incredibly lucky his was the only life lost.

Alternatively they could increase the speed limits for buses.

If they drive faster they will be on their destination before getting tired and accidents will be avoided.

 

How about that Thai logic?

[glennb6]

a professional company bus driver fell asleep and ran full speed into back of a truck. a drivers job is literally holding the lives of 50+/- people in their hands 100% of the time they are doing their job.  one could say job performance doesn't get any worse than that. it seems these sort of accidents happen far too often yet the bus companies continue to operate in the same manor.

perhaps if the laws held a bus company and it's executives in charge directly responsible (with charges to include manslaughter and gross negligence) and with mandatory very large fines (payable to all passengers and other vehicles involved) if the driver is found guilty.

[Assurancetourix]

7 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Time for tachographs to be fitted on every heavy vehicle and all public transport with restricted hours set in law for driving

When new trucks and coaches leave the factories they are all equipped with disc tachographs, which I used when I was doing this job in Europe between the years 1970 and 2007;
meanwhile digital tachographs have arrived on the market;
that's what it would be necessary to install on heavy vehicles and passenger transport in Thailand to replace these unnecessary GPS because the tachograph records all the data we want to recover, not just the speed, also the driving times, rest, ;
if desired, it can also record the number of times the driver has used his brake pedal;
for a dump truck, he can record the number of dump lifts ...
etc ...

[Paul Henry]

If you fly a passenger plane there are strict controls on the pilot, in many countries on a long distance bus there are two drivers plus logs plus computor monitors to keep check of drivers and the bus. With the pay rates in Thailand surely they could afford two drivers. I realise to ask a Thai bus driver to keep true and accurate log book is a pipe dream at least two drivers MAY reduce the terrible record of Thai long distance buses.

[Ossy]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

His limbs were also detached and his internal organs were splattered over the front of the vehicle

Ughhh! . . . Perhaps our poetic songthrush of a PM could use this delicate line to open his next concert, before promising to make tachos compulsory . . . . before he takes another day off work would be good.

[madmen]

Thais can not sit still for more than 10 mins without an overpowering urge to nap..why?

Whats really scary is we only hear about those that fell asleep but how many out there right now micro sleeping? A constant battle of closing eye lids and then shocked back into reality for hours on end.

[ParadiseLost]

15 minutes ago, Paul Henry said:

If you fly a passenger plane there are strict controls on the pilot, in many countries on a long distance bus there are two drivers plus logs plus computor monitors to keep check of drivers and the bus. With the pay rates in Thailand surely they could afford two drivers. I realise to ask a Thai bus driver to keep true and accurate log book is a pipe dream at least two drivers MAY reduce the terrible record of Thai long distance buses.

Can it measure how much garbage he throws out the window too?

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Time for tachographs to be fitted on every heavy vehicle and all public transport with restricted hours set in law for driving. Drivers falling asleep at the wheel continuously from driving too many hours, causing terrible accidents. This one will not be doing it again, and incredibly lucky his was the only life lost.

I agree in part with what you're saying, England where I was born has used tachographs for many years in heavy commercial vehicles as well as passenger transport, this has been used to limit maximum driving hours and to make sure that drivers stop & take rest periods during the journey. The graph also acts as a record showing speeds/acceleration/braking etc. But most English drivers can make a living from driving alone.

 This will not stop a driver who is already tired from beginning a journey!

If you cut the driving hours many will find second jobs to make up the income, then go on to drive the tour buses or vans etc.

The failure here was both the driver & the co-driver were both sleeping !!!!

 

This is going to sound a little crazy, but I'm sure there must be some type of simple head-gear that could be worn by the driver with a sensor connected to an alarm, if the head drops (as in sleep) the alarm will sound to alert everyone!!

Just an idea.... 

[Pravda]

This news made me hungry. Fortunately there is Taco Bell in Bangkok

[ParadiseLost]

One would think with all the tech available today that simple radar kits could be installed on all such vehicles. A quick Google search yields quite a few examples of following-distance radar equipment...

 

Edited March 15, 2019 by ParadiseLost

[Almer]

Disgusting state of affairs for a country big in tourism

[Chrisswe]

8 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Time for tachographs to be fitted on every heavy vehicle and all public transport with restricted hours set in law for driving. Drivers falling asleep at the wheel continuously from driving too many hours, causing terrible accidents. This one will not be doing it again, and incredibly lucky his was the only life lost.

Or out of YaBa !!??

[CGW]

39 minutes ago, madmen said:

Thais can not sit still for more than 10 mins without an overpowering urge to nap..why?

I have wondered this and put it down to their noisy & polluted lifestyle, how can they get any quality rest in hot, sticky & doubtless very noisy rooms. ????

[ratcatcher]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

The bus had left Mo Chit 2 bus station at 9.30pm with 41 passengers

The bus had left Mo Chit at 9.30 and probably headed up Vibhavadi Rangsit Road onto Pahonyothin Hwy 1 to the junction with Hwy 2 Mitraphap at Saraburi. I haven't driven that route for many years but it's not much more than roughly 2 hours max for a bus. 

Why was he unfit to drive 2 hours after leaving the Bangkok terminal?

[Ctkong]

3 hours ago, glennb6 said:

a professional company bus driver fell asleep and ran full speed into back of a truck. a drivers job is literally holding the lives of 50+/- people in their hands 100% of the time they are doing their job.  one could say job performance doesn't get any worse than that. it seems these sort of accidents happen far too often yet the bus companies continue to operate in the same manor.

perhaps if the laws held a bus company and it's executives in charge directly responsible (with charges to include manslaughter and gross negligence) and with mandatory very large fines (payable to all passengers and other vehicles involved) if the driver is found guilty.

If bus owner get good and responsible drivers paying better than current average market price, he would have to increase the bus ticket prices to offset the higher cost. This being thailand where price is sensitive, he would not have a workable business model as the number of those who value quality and safety over price are few and far in between. Until the standard of living in Thailand increases, the carnage will go on. Thai mentality of karma and fate also do not help matters. 

[Bangkok Barry]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Co-driver Waitoon Rotjai, 40, said he was asleep and woke only when there was impact. 

 

Amazing how people here imagine they are paid to sleep on the job rather than stay alert. If he was awake he might have noticed that the driver wasn't. I'm reminded of a story on here some time ago of a foreigner who had taken on a night security guard, and on his first day the guard showed up for work with a blanket and pillow. He's probably still wondering why he was fired before he even started.

[Ctkong]

58 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

 

 

This is going to sound a little crazy, but I'm sure there must be some type of simple head-gear that could be worn by the driver with a sensor connected to an alarm, if the head drops (as in sleep) the alarm will sound to alert everyone!!

Just an idea.... 

I read once about just such a gear that drivers wear on their ear. And once the head is nodding off, ( not level) a piercing alarm would go off. Not guaranteed to save your life but at least you wake up to see the last moments of your life. 

[digger70]

9 hours ago, edwinchester said:

"The head of driver Attaphon Ekkapong, 38, from Ubon had come loose and fallen down in the bus."

 

The death of anyone deserves better reporting than this crap.

 

Why, the more gruesome the better , Someone  maybe an other Cowboy/bullock driver may read that and take Note.

[Chang_paarp]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

This is going to sound a little crazy, but I'm sure there must be some type of simple head-gear that could be worn by the driver with a sensor connected to an alarm, if the head drops (as in sleep) the alarm will sound to alert everyone!!

Readily available. They look like glasses that monitor eyes to check blink rate, which is a precursor to falling asleep. An alarm sounds when the wearer starts to nod off.

 

[Happystance]

9 hours ago, edwinchester said:

The death of anyone deserves better reporting than this crap.

And this: "...crushing a family of six in a pick-up. They all survived without injury."

Crushed without injury...

 

4 hours ago, glennb6 said:

a professional company bus driver fell asleep and ran full speed into back of a truck. a drivers job is literally holding the lives of 50+/- people in their hands 100% of the time they are doing their job.  one could say job performance doesn't get any worse than that. 

I drove commercially for years. ALL bus drivers, the world over, are overworked and underpaid. 

Every night driver faces/fights exhaustion daily.

I know the industry and would never consider getting in a night bus anywhere.

 

2 hours ago, Paul Henry said:

With the pay rates in Thailand surely they could afford two drivers. I realise to ask a Thai bus driver to keep true and accurate log book is a pipe dream at least two drivers MAY reduce the terrible record of Thai long distance buses.

That quote from the second driver you musta missed negates your argument here 

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, ratcatcher said:

The bus had left Mo Chit at 9.30 and probably headed up Vibhavadi Rangsit Road onto Pahonyothin Hwy 1 to the junction with Hwy 2 Mitraphap at Saraburi. I haven't driven that route for many years but it's not much more than roughly 2 hours max for a bus. 

Why was he unfit to drive 2 hours after leaving the Bangkok terminal?

You are right but who knows how tired he was when he set off from Mo Chit?

 

Rooster

[1duckyboy]

Making the unfortunate bus driver the scapegoat when clearly no skid marks means another pesky brake failure. ????